Resurgence
by Syaoron the Fox
Summary: In a world ravaged by war, a certain fox wakes up one day, with no memory of who he is and is inducted into an unknown organization. They claim to be fighting Robotnik, but what is their true motive? A Tails fanfic that asks you "Who am I?"
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hello viewers! I'm back again, with a brand new story! As per popular request, I am including several different pices of music to listen to while reading. This is my first time doing this, so if you have music you want to suggest to me, do it in either a review or by PM. Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: The author owns nothing from Archie or Sega. The Author owns only this plot and OC's he may use.**

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><p>Knothole Cemetery<p>

June-16-4286

15:30 Mobius

_[Now Playing: "__**I Talk to the Rain" on: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Original Soundtrack-Part 1**__]_

They say that summer is a time for peace and happiness. Summer is the period of time where children are relieved from the demanding life of school. It is the pinnacle of warmth and prosperity.

So why did she feel so cold and lifeless? Why was she forced to feel the depressing patter of the rain against her fur and skin?

Sally Acorn, leader of the Freedom Fighters, felt nothing but sadness. One more person had just been taken from her life in the most recent large-scale fight against Robotnik's reign. Why was this person so important? It was nothing physical that made him special. He had no real aptitude for combat.

It was for this reason that he was so important to her. He was so young an innocent; too young to be caught up in a war he was born into.

The funeral session was beginning. People sat in rows as she and Sonic, the Mobian national hero, walked down the aisle. She took a glance at Sonic and noticed his watery eyes. He too was troubled by _his_ death, and she felt empathy. She knew what he was going through, though he tried to hide the tears.

In the very front row sat partially-roboticized Bunnie Rabbot, mechanic Rotor Walrus, and Antoine D'Coolette, the timid royal guardian of Princess Sally Acorn. Sally and Sonic passed them on their way to the front, noticing the tears that were welling up in their eyes. Bunnie had tears streaming down her face, but she refused to break down.

When they arrived at the podium, Sally tested to see if the microphone worked before speaking into it. "Fellow Freedom Fighters, we are here today to pay homage to the one loss we attained during our latest skirmish in Robotropolis." She began speaking. Already, the Mobians at the session were holding their breath in the face of this loss.

"Yesterday, we lost Miles Prower, known to many of us by his nickname 'Tails'." She continued her speech. "He had a kind soul, and had befriended many of the villagers, here. It is only after this recent battle that we realize how much we all really love him."

Sally began choking up and she stepped back, allowing Sonic to say his fare. "I remember when Tails was only a kit." He said, bringing back nostalgic memories to all. "His parents, Amadeus and Rosemary Prower, had already been roboticized and he was left on his own when we found him. He grew up in the midst of this godforsaken war, but still managed to stay happy and hopeful. He recently had his tenth birthday, which we celebrated merrily."

Sonic stopped for a moment, grimacing at the memory and holding back his tears. "It is with great sadness that I announce that he was killed in a skirmish battle yesterday. He was lazed through the shoulder by a sniper, and passed out immediately. But, when we completed the mission, we couldn't find his body, which is why this funeral procession lacks a coffin."

Many more speeches were given on how much the little two-tailed fox meant to them before the funeral session was finally let out.

Sonic took one last look at the stand and sniffled. "Good bye, little bro."

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

**~ (**"_The world, as you knew it, is gone…"-__**Captain John Price**_**) ~**

_[Now Playing: "__**Eruption" by: Van Halen**__]_

…_**Syaoron the Fox presents…**_

…_**Using Material from Archie and Sega…**_

…_**As Well as Various Music and Themes…**_

_**RESURGENCE**_

_**Chapter 1**_

_**Rebirth**_

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Undisclosed Location

June-17-4286

6:20 Mobius Code

_[Now Playing: __**"Delta Birth" on: Red vs. Blue Season 9 Original Soundtrack**__]_

Everything was a blur. His vision was bad enough without the pounding headache. He groaned and rolled around; on what, he didn't know. He just wanted the ache to stop. "Where am I?" he muttered. He saw two figures turn toward him at the sound of his voice. He could see one clearly; a Mobian Gecko who was wearing a black lab coat and spectacles. On the area where the heart would be, he saw a symbol; a red upside-down equilateral triangle that held a white circle inside. Inside of the white circle was a black infinity symbol.

He couldn't define the features of the other figure, as he was a large cloak with a hood on, but the same symbol was printed on the back of his or her cloak. He decided to make petty conversation with the one he could identify. "I feel confused." He muttered softly, but still audibly.

"Do not be concerned." The gecko said to him. "That is completely natural given your state."

He wrinkled his brow when he heard that. Was that supposed to have any significance? "My state?" he questioned, a new found strength in his voice. "Was I… injured, perhaps?"

"No." the gecko answered. "Do you feel as though you have been injured?"

"Councilor, please." The other figure said with a slight accent. From what he could tell, the figure's accent was slightly western, but barely noticeable. "Don't be concerned, you're fine."

_Wasn't I just told that? _He thought while trying to make sense of things. He couldn't remember anything before this. There was a blank space before his awakening, but he just ignored that.

"Now." The figure started again. "Do you know your name?"

_My name? _He racked his mind, trying to come up with the simple piece of information. Then he felt something; a phrase that seemed right. "Yes, I know my name. I am Miles 'Tails' Prower."

"No." The figure was quick to answer him. "You aren't Miles Prower. You _are _mistaken."

He shook his head. The answer had felt so right, too. "I'm… sorry. I'm just really confused."

"Don't be concerned." The gecko interjected. "This is perfectly normal given your state. Would you like to know your name?"

_What is my name? _He thought for a moment, deciding to trust this person. "Yes, please. I would like to know my name."

"Your name is Seraph Faron, and your codename is 'The Moon'." The figure answered giving him his name.

He pondered the name. Seraph Faron didn't seem like the kind of name he thought he would've had. "Seraph Faron, sir?"

The councilor nodded. "It is very nice to meet you."

Seraph looked at the councilor and cocked his head to the side. "I think I remember you."

The gecko only shook his head. "No; you have never met us before."

Though he couldn't see the other figure's face very well, he knew that the figure was giving him a skeptical glance. "Do you know your name?"

Seraph was shocked by the question, having just been told it. He decided to play it out and go along. "Yes; my name is Seraph Faron."

The figure appeared to nod. "That is correct."

The gecko then spoke slowly. "Seraph, this is… the Director." He noticed that the Councilor spoke it with hesitation, as if he was anxious or afraid. "He will be… taking care of you, so to speak."

"I'm glad to hear that." Seraph said gratefully, confused as to where he had come from. "Still, I'm very uncomfortable."

"That is only temporary." The Director assured him. "And, when you feel better, we are going to do incredible things, together. Yes, _incredible things._"

Seraph shuddered at the way he said that phrase, but he simply tried ignoring it. His vision had cleared up and he finally looked around to see where he was.

From the equipment, he figured that what he was sitting on was everyone's worst nightmare. An examination table.

A small device moved toward him. When it touched the middle of his forehead, he let out the most ear splitting scream ever made.

_[Now Playing: "__**The Office of Naval Intelligence" on: Halo 3 ODST Soundtrack**__]_

The scream echoed through the halls of the fortress, letting everyone know that another soldier had been added to their ranks. The question that went through everyone's head was, "would he be a part of Alpha Squad?"

Alpha Squad was a group of about 21 of the greatest members of their organization. Supposedly, the team was supposed to be comprised of 22 people, and everyone was waiting for the last spot to be filled. Anyone who questioned the Internals about who was going to be selected was firmly declined the information.

Some were jealous of the group, but they had earned their right to amazingness. Each one was incredibly skilled, and some believe that they had undergone a genetic modification. It was plausible; all of the members of Alpha Squad had a very rare iris mutation called 'Heterochromia'. The mutation made it so that they had two differently colored eyes. As uncommon as this was, it was an initial shock that they all had this rare mutation. It is due to this that they were becoming increasingly wary of the possibility of genetic alteration.

The halls were crowded with people, and they often had things to do, secret missions to carry out. If not, they were investigating the whereabouts of their enemies.

It was on this day that Fiona Fox strode through the halls. She was one of the top members of Alpha Squad. As she passed by, soldiers looked at her skeptically, noting her attire. She normally wore black boots, black fingerless gloves, and a black belly top, and today was no different a day.

She, as did all of the Alpha Squad members, had Heterochromia. One of her eyes was blue, while the other eye was purple. She turned the corner, letting her red fox tail slip behind, leaving the others to their day.

A Mobian dove was confused by this, having only recently been inducted into The Freelancer organization. He turned toward a Dalmatian and nudged her, getting his attention. "Hey, what's the deal with Fiona? Why does everyone stare at her?" He asked softly, so as not to attract attention.

The Dalmatian widened her eyes. "You mean, you _don't _know?" She stated, leaving the dove to shake his head. "Well, rumor has it that Fiona used to be part of the Suppression Squad, an anti-Freedom Fighter group from Moebius, which is a world parallel to our dimension. They say that, before she was inducted, she had two blue eyes."

It was the dove's turn to wide his eyes. "Really?"

"Yes." The Dalmatian nodded. "Also, before she joined, she didn't have that weird brand on her."

The doe cocked his head. "Weird brand?"

"Yeah; a brand is given to all members of Alpha Squad. Each one is a Roman numeral that represents their codename. Her brand is 'XIX' and her codename is 'The Sun'."

Little to their knowledge, Fiona was waiting right around the corner, listening in on their conversation with her enhanced fox senses. She sneered in their general direction and gave the scar on her stomach a quick glance before walking onward. She was given explicit orders to report to the Director for a briefing on the newest member of Alpha Squad. She tried her best to disaffiliate herself with the Suppression Squad, but someone always brought it up.

When she walked into the briefing room, the first thing that caught her eye was a two-tailed kit. She gasped silently when she saw the young fox. _Why is he here? _She pondered while continuing to look at him. He bore a remarkable resemblance to the kit she had used to trick the Freedom Fighters into accepting her before she betrayed them.

"I see that you are already acquainted with him?"

She turned around swiftly, about to pull a Colt Python from her holster until she saw the cloaked figure. She saluted him after returning her weapon to its holster. "I'm sorry, Director. You startled me." She apologized.

The Director accepted with the wave of his hand. She could see the white glove with black cuffs near the end, bound by two golden rings. It occurred to her that she had never seen his face, but she marked that thought as unimportant. Instead, she looked back at the figure, lying unconscious on the bench. "Is that…"

"Yes." The Director quickly answered. "That is Miles Prower; the child you knew as 'Tails'."

It was shocking to look at him now. She had betrayed his love, and she was sure that he hated her with a vengeance. But seeing him now, lean and built up, but not overly buff, she wondered what he his purpose for being here was. "Is he the new recruit?"

The Director nodded. "If you had a grudge with him in the past, don't worry." He assured her in the converse. "We have repressed his memories and he no longer remembers who he is, or you for that matter."

She did a once over of the boy's body and noticed the scars on his left cheek. The Roman numerals 'XVIII' were branded into his skin, never to be healed. He looked so vulnerable; so helpless; so… She caught herself in the middle of that train of thought. What was she doing? She didn't _care_ about him. He was just another stepping stone to reach her goal; her _want_ to reform for the mistakes she made.

A flutter of his eyelids signified his awakening. He was about to stretch out before he cringed and gripped his head in pain. He felt an unbearable burning sensation in his head that just wouldn't relieve its self. Then, as quickly as it came, it was gone. He opened his eyes to and was surprised by how clear and focused his vision was.

He looked around the new room and noticed several things. The first of which was a holographic display table in the middle of the room. Currently, it was showing the map of Mobius. The second thing he noticed was a screen that displayed the words: **ALPHA SQUAD**. Underneath the team name was a list of statistics of the individual names, which he could only assume were for the purpose of improving their abilities.

When he looked around the room, he saw the Director, and a face that was new to him. He quickly noted her blue and purple eyes before looking down at the brand on the side of her stomach. He took in the details with his newly enhanced vision; her red pelt; her sassy attitude.

He then noticed she was looking at him and he diverted his eyes in embarrassment while his face flushed with red.

"So your our new recruit, huh Seraph?" She addressed him. He quickly turned back to her and nodded. He tried standing, and succeeded with a small amount of difficulty.

Glad to have the ability to walk, he took a couple strides around the small room. Fiona then cleared her throat to get his attention. "I am Fiona Fox." She introduced herself. She extended her hand for Seraph to shake and he gladly took it, shaking firmly before letting go.

"Show him around the compound, Fiona." The Director said. She took it as more of a command rather than a suggestion, and she showed Seraph out of the room.

_[Now Playing: __**"Wayside" on: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Original Soundtrack-part 2**__]_

Their walk took them past many gazing soldiers; all interested in this new recruit. They had seen the scar on his face and the color of his eyes. Of course, Seraph was blissfully oblivious as to why they were staring at him. "There are many miscellaneous hallways." Fiona explained while Seraph hung on every word. "You can get lost easily, but there's a holographic directory built into a watch that you will be given in the eventuality."

They soon walked into a large room where soldiers of all species were sitting and having conversations in their down time. Everyone glanced at them when they entered before continuing to eat and converse with one another. "This is the mess hall." Fiona spoke out suddenly. "This is where you will enjoy most of your down time and you will eat all your meals here."

They were given more looks from relaxing soldiers, but they shrugged it off and continued the tour. After walking out a door on the opposite side of the mess hall, they passed through more maze-like hallways before arriving at their quarters. There were three rooms, one for the Director and Councilor, one for Alpha Squad, and one for the many other operatives.

They passed into the room for Alpha Squad and looked around at the bunks in the larger than expected room. "This is where you, and the rest of Alpha Squad's members, will be sleeping. On the other side is a bathroom." Fiona taught him. He shuffled toward the bathroom so he could see the one thing that had been wracking his mind for a while.

Himself.

He found a body sized bathroom mirror for him to look at and identify his physique. He was in a lot more shape than he thought. Granted, he wasn't extremely buff, but he was lean. He thought he was of pre-teen age, but he felt older than that, which he assumed was thanks to maturity he gained prior to his memory loss.

He took notice of the fact that he had two swishing tails behind him rather than just one, but shrugged it off. He then took notice of his face. There was a scar on the side of his left cheek that bore the Roman numerals 'XVIII'. The thing he seemed to notice most were his eyes. There was his left eye, the calm, blue eye. Then there was his right eye. The iris was a fiery red, but what it burned with, he couldn't decide. Was it fueled by malice, or by determination?

He pulled himself out of these deep thoughts, returning to the matter at hand. "So, I have Heterochromia, huh?" Seraph spoke aloud, not particularly to anyone.

Fiona answered, nonetheless. "Yeah, all of the members of Alpha Squad have Heterochromia." He turned to face her and she showed him her blue and violet irises. "We all think it has something to do with our genetic modification."

Seraph raised an eyebrow and looked at her skeptically. "Genetic modification? We possess the technology for that?"

Fiona nodded and flicked him in the forehead. "They modify the genetic structure through the forehead, using infrared technology. While it is the most effective spot, some operatives have lost their memories."

_Lost their memories? _Seraph thought, thinking up possibilities for his amnesia before remembering that he woke up without his memories, _before _he was genetically modified. _But, if that's the case, then why can't I remember anything?_

"Anyway!" Fiona interrupted his train of thought, regaining his attention. "We better continue the tour."

They walked out of the barracks, through many more random halls, and they finally arrived at a heavily locked door. "This is one of the entrances." Fiona said. She then nodded to one of the guards. "The entrances all have guards posted near them, so we don't need to fear any unwanted guests."

They walked on further into the compound. Fiona gave Seraph a look of pity, knowing the boy had no memories of the wonderful past he had, even if he did grow up in a war. She sighed and decided to ask a question that would determine if it was really him. "So, do you like mechanics?"

Seraph heard the last word and his heart rate accelerated. He wasn't quite sure what it was; only knowing that it was probably from a past experience that he couldn't remember. Still… that word caused a short burst of ecstasy for him. "You might say that." He answered. "Why do you ask?"

Fiona smiled, though Seraph couldn't see it. _Uh huh; still the same old Prower. _She thought while chuckling inwardly. "Well then, you're really going to like our next stop." Seraph cocked his head to the side. It was when they entered a large open area that his eyes widened in wonder.

_[Now Playing: "__**Overture" on: Halo Reach Original Soundtrack**__]_

All around were marvelous machines of all types. Everything from the finest weapons to the greatest machines was held in this garage. On the far wall was a weapon's armory, containing most guns in existence.

In several areas around the garage, there were vehicles of all types. He noticed many robotic arms and Mobians with welding tools operating on a tank. It was his curious nature that drove him to wander over to the machine without Fiona's approval.

"So, what kind of tank is this?" Seraph questioned while examining its design.

The welder working on the war machine smirked through his mask. "This is a Leopard 2-140 R." He introduced the kit to the machine. "She fires a 140mm shell from the main cannon, which has rifling* to improve accuracy. On the front and back of the main body are independent manned machine gunner positions. On the top of the rotating cannon, there is another manned machine gun which also rotates independently." The welder smiled softly at the tank while welding the armor together. "This is one of our best models, worked on by none other than _me_."

He looked next to him after his bragging spree to find the kit looking at the underbelly of the tank. "Hey, were you listening to me?"

Seraph was looking at the inner workings of the treads and noticed something. "What did you say the speed of this tank is?"

"I didn't."

"Well, what is it?"

The welder sighed and pulled off his mask after shutting down his torch, revealing him to be a brown weasel. "The maximum speed I can get out of this baby is 40 kilometers per hour. Why?"

Seraph then motioned for the weasel to lie down and pointed to a gear. "See, this gear is kind of big for the speed you want to run this." He explained. "If you decreased the size of the gear attached to the axel, you'd get a better ratio out of the power, meaning more rotations of the axel per rotation of the actual machine."

The welder was about to object when Seraph began taking off the gears. "Now, I know you're going to object, because you don't think it would fit with the design of the machine, but if you take two gears that would fit in the size between the large cog on the generator and the smaller cog on the axel, then stretch a pole between the two and locking them in place with a wing nut, you'd still get a gear ratio of about 1.7, compared to the gear ratio of 1 that it used to have, meaning that the tank now has a maximum speed of…" He did a couple of quick calculations and double checked them in his mind. "… 68 kilometers per hour."

The welder looked at him in complete shock. This newcomer had just figured out a problem he'd been trying to address for weeks!

Fiona came over, noticing that Seraph was already covered in grime and she tugged on his ear, resulting in a yelp. "I'm sorry if he was a bother." Fiona excused for Seraph. "He's new here."

The weasel just swished his hand. "No, not a problem at all!"

Fiona looked at him suspiciously, but shrugged it off. She turned back to her pupil to find that he had rushed off to another machine; this time, a large black plane. He was tinkering with it with the same passion, and she was forced to pull him off of the plane.

He looked at her dejectedly while he was guided into the next location, the training room. "Now, while our muscles are already enhanced through the genetic augmentation." Fiona began to explain. "You can still build muscles through weight lifting here."

He continued to survey the room, looking about in awe. Fiona then grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around. "Now, come on." She egged him out the door, and they eventually arrived at the place they started; the briefing room. "The Director is going to give you your first mission."

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><p><strong>*Rifling:<strong> Grooves in the barrel of a firearm or cannon that add a spiral to a fired projectile, making it more accurate.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Alright, this is finally being uploaded. Once again, I'm new to the music thing, so if you have a song to suggest, please PM that to me.**

**ALSO, a character appears in here that is thanks to an author named: Noble Six.**

**Disclaimer: The author owns nothing from Archie or Sega. The author does own this plot.**

**Error: Turns out, the abbreviations I put in wouldn't register, so I had to fix that.**

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><p><strong>~ (<strong>_"Some survive to fight… others fight to survive."-__**Syaoron the Fox**_**) ~**

_[Now Playing: __**"Eruption" by: Van Halen**__]_

…_**Syaoron the Fox presents…**_

…_**Using Material from Archie and Sega…**_

…_**As Well as Various Music and Themes…**_

_**RESURGENCE**_

_**Chapter 2**_

_**Evaluation**_

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Outskirts of Robotropolis

June-18-4286

8:26 Mobius Time

Seraph looked down at the polluted city below his hill. He glared at it harshly, never having seen something so foul in his life; or at least, as long as he's known his life.

He could smell the fumes from the distance. They were full of the stench of burning crude oil rising from the smoke stacks of factories far and wide. It was despicable, to see machines that he loved so dearly performing these actions of malice and indignity. He'd take them all apart for such servitude to their creator.

But then again, the creator _is _the problem. The vile man that the Director called "Robotnik" was behind this cruel machination. He made these factories merely to further his robot army and expand his empire of pollution; wiping out everything in his path to dominate the world. He was even told about a special machine that Robotnik used to help him conquer; a machine called "The Roboticizer".

The machine transformed flesh and blood cells of living beings into the steel and iron cells of a robot. It was designed by an inventor named Sir Charles Hedgehog to give people a longer lasting life. The backdrop of this was that it took away the freewill of all its subjects, so he discarded the idea. Through a "one man's trash is another man's treasure" chain of events, Robotnik rebuilt the Roboticizer to enslave Mobian kind.

If he had been allowed the time and weaponry, he would've wiped the floor with that megalomaniac. Alas, he has the aptitude, but not the time.

_[Now Playing: __**"Runnin' With the Devil" by: Van Halen**__]_

His mission was easy enough. The primary objective was to acquire five Gamma class Proton Energy Cores, or PECs, from the nearest generator.

The secondary objective? Go on a killing spree, and come back with a death toll of over one hundred; simple enough.

Was he ready and able for this? The Director had said this was a test, after all. Seraph smirked, thinking, _I guess I'm about to find out._

He ran down the hill, into the polluted city below, ready to deal out punishment to all who stood in his path. He was cruising through the city at a comfortable running speed of a couple hundred miles per hour. He almost didn't believe the Director when he said that he'd had super speed.

He saw a SWAT bot patrol in the distance and decided to start having some fun. He gripped the two Colt M1911 pistols at his hip and flipped over the humanoid bots, firing at them with supreme accuracy all the while. _Who ever said the weapon makes the man? _Seraph thought as the bots dropped to the ground and he continued to speed through the city.

He left the pistols in their holsters as he came upon another patrol. He clenched his gloved hand and thrust it into the bots gut. As the others swerved around, attempting to fire at him, he jumped over their laser fire as they incinerated the other bot he had punched. He landed in the midst of them and narrowed his brow.

Planting his hand on the ground, he spun around in a sweeping kick, knocking them off their feet. Before they even hit the ground, he had unloaded a round into each of them, deactivating them permanently. He unloaded the magazines on his pistols and loaded them with just as much speed. In the distance, he noted that two hover units were following him.

The bulky, yet streamline, craft were the basic methods of transport for most of Robotnik's forces, armed only with a single laser turret. He grunted, knowing he would have a hard time fighting something that could not only traverse air; it could do it with great speed and maneuverability.

As he ran, he noticed that a hover unit was also approaching him from the front as well. _A flanking technique, huh? _He thought while narrowing his brow.

He bounded into the air and flipped upside down. Taking quick aim with his pistols he placed one accurate round up the barrel of each laser turret, effectively nullifying the threat. He twisted into an upright position, landed firmly on the ground, and continued his run.

The exhilaration he felt was astounding. He felt he could run just about anywhere, but he knew he had a job to do.

He soon arrived at the entrance to the generator and smirked. He kicked the metal doors open and the pieces flew in all directions. He took a few steps inside, disappointed that he hadn't drawn the attention of nearby bots, and whistled loudly.

That seemed to do the trick, as SWAT bots soon began to swarm him from all over. He bared his fangs and began dashing towards them. He met the first bot with a fierce elbow to the gut. It tore through the metal and went out the other side. Other bots made attempts to grab him or shoot at him, but it was all too slow. He rolled backward and swept another bot off its feet. He grabbed its leg before it could hit the ground and he flung the robot towards the small patrol, staggering them.

He brought back his fist as he ran towards them and lunged forward with the punch, knocking off three of the robots' heads in a row. After taking nearby robot's arm and wrenching it in an awkward direction, he brought the bot to its knees and used its own laser to blast disintegrate a few more bots before bringing his foot to the hostage robot's face and smashing it in. He then twirled into a side kick and finished off the last one.

He was almost saddened by the lack of opposition, but he had to get what he came here for. After a bit more venturing around the building, he saw another battalion guarding the actual generator and clenched his teeth, unsure of how to face the large group of enemies.

He was hence forth surprised when a blue hedgehog came speeding in, curling into a ball and tearing through the front line of robots. _And I thought I could move fast! _He thought, but he had to continue the mission. He decided that the hedgehog's assistance would be enough, so he dashed in and performed a flying side kick, crashing through five bots in the process.

They had effectively made their presence noticed, as more SWAT bots were coming to apprehend them. Twenty SWAT bots surrounded them and they were suddenly back to back. "You've got some nice moves, kid." The blue hedgehog told him.

Seraph only smirked. "Likewise," He spoke to him. The blue hedgehog flinched, as if surprised by the sound of his voice.

Seraph then darted out, planting a firm kick in the nearest robot's head before it could even register his movement. A nearby bot saw this and aimed a punch for the twin-tailed fox's forehead. Seraph caught the metallic arm before it could touch him and he flung it over his shoulder before smashing in its visor.

He hadn't the time to react to the robot behind him as it pointed its wrist at Seraph and exposed the laser. "Surrender, Mobian." The robot told him and he froze in fear for a split second. "You will be brought for immediate robotifica-"

The robot never managed to finish the sentence as the blue hedgehog careened through the robot at supersonic speeds. Seraph smirked, almost having forgotten the presence of the hedgehog. He then swerved around and round kicked the robot in front of him. He then drew his pistols and fired the rounds in many spread out directions.

The remaining robots fell under the highly accurate fire. Smoke rose from the barrels of his M1911s before he blew it off, dropped the clips, and loaded fresh magazines.

_[Stop Music]_

He walked forward, toward the machine that was supposed to be holding the PECs. Looking at the computer beside the hatch, he assumed he would need to do some hacking.

The blue hedgehog, while helpful at first, was starting to become annoying. He was giving Seraph strange looks; staring at him in certain areas at times before pacing and muttering to himself. He would get teary eyed at moments until he rubbed his eyes out.

Finally, after a rather uncomfortable silence, the hedgehog grabbed Seraph and turned him around. The first thing he noticed was his eyes. One, a calm sky blue; the other, a fierce fiery red. He also took notice of the Roman numerals burned into his face, the XVIII becoming rather apparent.

The hedgehog finally broke the silence by asking, "Who are you?"

Seraph stared blankly at him for a moment. He then shook his head to regain focus. "I'm Seraph Faron." He answered. He then turned back to the computer to continue hacking. "And you are?"

The hedgehog smirked and put up a pose, where he outstretched his fist and made a thumbs-up sign. "The name's Sonic! Sonic the Hedgehog!"

Sonic looked back at Seraph, who seemed as if he was no longer paying attention. The twin-tailed fox brought a hand to his mouth and stifled a yawn. "Lovely." He remarked while typing away frivolously at the computer terminal.

A vein pulsed on Sonic's forehead in frustration. "You mean you've never heard of me?"

"No." Seraph shrugged. "Should I have heard of you?"

Sonic sighed exasperatedly. "You know; Mobius' greatest legend? The Mobian National Hero?" Seraph stared at him blankly, not seeming to understand. "C'mon! How have you not heard of me?"

Seraph rolled his eyes. He looked at the terminal screen to find that he had finally hacked his way through and a hatch on the side of the large generator. A mechanical arm holding six soda-can-sized red glowing canisters. "Hey, are you listening to me?" Sonic interrupted his train of thought while Seraph collected five of the six.

"No, I'm purposefully ignoring you." Seraph responded nonchalantly. It only managed to infuriate Sonic more.

After he had pocketed the power cores, he took out his right pistol and shot the remaining energy core. It began shaking violently and started flashing red. Sonic gasped and turned to shout at him. "What did you just do?"

But he was already gone. Without a moment's thought, he rushed out of there, leaving the compound to explode in a fiery ball of fury.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Unknown location

June-18-4286

16:17 Mobius Time

Seraph stood at attention in the briefing room. The Director and the Councilor paced in front of him, determining the statistics of his mission. On the screen behind the Director showed the many stats that were involved.

He noted that his kill count was 108. This broke down into several other categories. He had 39 combat kills, 20 gun kills, and 49 environmental kills. He smirked at the environmental kill count, knowing that they had come from destroying the remaining Proton Energy Core.

"Excellent work, Moon." The Director complemented him, calling Seraph by his code name. "You managed to retrieve exactly five Poton Energy Cores, destroyed the generator, and you achieved the required kill count."

Seraph nodded, accepting the praise. He looked at the energy cores with curiosity, however, and decided to ask, "What do we need the energy cores for, sir?"

The Director paused in his pacing and turned to Seraph. "The intention will be revealed in time. For now, leave me be."

Seraph frowned and turned to the door, exiting slowly to leave the Director to his thoughts. The Director walked over to a nearby bathroom and pulled his cloak off of his head to wash his face. After drying it off, he quickly pulled the hood back over his head, but not before catching the glint of his blood red eyes.

"Yes, all will be revealed in time." He muttered to himself while walking back into the briefing room.

Walking through the halls just outside, Seraph was stretching his limbs and communing with the passing soldiers.

Soon enough, he happened upon Fiona once more. He waved to her and she came over. "Hey, where are the other Alpha Squad members?"

The red vixen sighed and shook her head. "They're all doing their missions… well, except one."

Seraph perked his ears up. "Could I meet him?"

She raised an eyebrow and shrugged. She wondered whether or not to go there, but she decided anyway. "Well, right now he's going through his phases in the brig."

"You keep him in the brig?"

"Ah, we keep him _tied up _in the brig."

Seraph massaged his forehead. "Why would you keep someone tied up in a brig for going through _phases_? And, what are these phases?"

Fiona rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm, dragging him to their next destination. Using his other arm, Seraph looked at his watch for the holographic map. "Are we heading, lower? How many floors does this place have?"

"Well, we _are _located on the edge of a cliff in the middle of the Great Unknown." She remarked smartly. "Use your imagination."

_[Now Playing: __**"Asylum" by: Disturbed**__]_

Once they had arrived, Seraph almost wished he hadn't come. There, standing not ten feet from him, was nothing less than a demon from the ninth layer of hell. Or, that's what Seraph's impression of him was. He just got a creepy vibe from this guy that made him want to run and hide.

The being was Mobian sized. Its skeletal hands and forearm were bound by chains to the pillar in the middle of the room, and he hung his head so it couldn't be seen. The creature looked like a black reptile without scales essentially. The fingers and toes were sharp looking and he emitted an aura of intimidation and superiority over them.

"This is agent 10, codename _Wheel of Fortune_." Fiona introduced for the monstrous creature. It growled, now notified of their presence. The creature huffed heavily, as if angry at them. "His real name is-"

"Disturbed." The creature interrupted her, causing Fiona to visibly shiver. "You want my name right? It's Disturbed." The creature's voice was dark and deep, dripping with malice in every syllable. He cackled evilly, shaking his head about. He finally brought his head up, showing his fearsome features. He grinned with an evil smile, showing his dagger-like teeth. His slit pupil shrunk as the yellow eyes seemed to emit insanity.

Disturbed licked his lips and let out a sigh of ecstasy. "That's it… THAT'S THE STUFF!" He shouted, while letting out loud insane laughter. He looked excited, in a mentally unstable way. "I can practically _taste _your fear. **GIVE ME MORE!**" He bellowed, scaring Seraph and Fiona, completing the purpose. He sucked in a deep breath, as if drawing smoke from a cigarette.

"It's so sweet, your fear." Disturbed commented. He cocked his head to the side, retaining the toothy smile. "You see, I have the unique ability to feed off of others' fear. Yours tastes…" He licked his chops again, tasting the bliss that they couldn't understand. "It tastes like honey. You must be _incredibly _afraid if I have attained this flavor."

Seraph bravely stepped forward and asked him, "What does Fiona mean when she says you're going through phases?"

Disturbed only grinned. "Ah, so she told you about that, huh?" Seraph nodded. "See, due to the genetic modification, we all have a metamorphosis ability called _Animalistic Induction_. This allows us to enhance our reaction time, muscle power, speed, thought process, and even special abilities. However, it comes with the backdrop of having feral thoughts, such as savagery."

He shook his head, as if clearing it. "You see, some people can activate it at will, like Miss Fiona here." He nodded to the red fox, who flinched slightly. "My metamorphosis is caused at random intervals of time, but they are never less than two weeks apart. It is due to this that I have been named _the Wheel of Fortune_, or _misfortune _for some unlucky few." He grinned as he said this.

Seraph looked puzzled for a moment, raising an eyebrow in question. "So, you're not _normally_ this sadistic?"

Disturbed huffed. "Oh, I'm a sadist for life. I can just control my urges better when I'm not going through the metamorphosis."

Disturbed stared Seraph in the eye, causing him to freeze up in fear. It was just a cold boring look, which could dig holes into your mind. "I also have an ability to cause illusions and make people experience what they fear most."

Seraph saw his eyes flash with a glint of black, and everything went dark. He looked around to find himself in a rocky field, with flashing clouds overhead. Something in those clouds concerned him to no end, and he had no clue why.

When he looked down, he realized he was standing on a rocky plane. A plane, he would realize later, that was made of limestone.

A bolt of light struck the ground a couple miles away and frightened him. He felt his heart rate rapidly increase and he began to hyperventilate. He heard a distinctive rumble after a few seconds and realized what it was.

It was a thunderstorm.

Another bolt of lightning came down much closer by, maybe only a hundred meters away. He jumped and heard a much louder crack of sound, making his ears ring. He wanted it to end, it was so terrifying. He crouched on the ground and assumed a fetal position, trying to hide his face from the lightning. Another bolt came down, this time directly upon him.

He felt the electricity course through his body, causing him a great burning and stinging sensation all over. He felt he was going to explode as he twitched about uncontrollably. All of a sudden, it stopped and he was left with only the residual feeling of the leftover charge.

"DISTURBED!" He heard a shout from out of nowhere, and he felt himself being pulled out of the world he was in.

He woke up in the brig, in the arms of Fiona who was supporting him. She was glaring at Disturbed with malcontent while the black reptilian monster merely chuckled, continuing to smile in his sinister way.

After many more minutes of silence, Disturbed finally dropped his fearsome smile. It looked as if his muscle mass was shrinking ever so slightly and his right eye's iris changed color to a hazelnut brown. Fiona smiled lightly and walked towards Disturbed, releasing the chains that once held him firmly.

Thus, he was tame once more.

_[Stop Music]_

Disturbed stretched his weary limbs, getting a satisfying crack every now and then to signify the popping of joints. After having made himself comfortable, he walked over to Seraph and held out his hand.

Seraph shook the skeletal hand firmly, though he was a little hesitant at first. "Sorry for the illusion." Disturbed said, with actual sincerity. It shocked Seraph at how much the metamorphosis could change someone. "I was a little out of control." Disturbed inhaled deeply through his slit nostrils and breathed a sigh. "I can still smell your sweet fear."

Seraph shuddered once more, still frightened by this anomaly of a Mobian. But, now that he wasn't completely savage, he seemed to be a lot more of a nice guy; on the outside, at the least.

_[Now Playing: __**"Dewdrops" on: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Original Soundtrack part 1**__]_

He looked into the corner of the room and spotted a mirror. Looking into it, he once again found himself staring into his two irises. _Can I activate it at will too? _He thought, attempting to think about doing. He focused on activating it, but nothing happened, and he assumed it was an automatic thing.

Fiona walked up behind and placed her hand on his shoulder. She looked into his troubled eyes through the mirror and sighed. "Don't worry, Tails. I think your transformation happens on its own."

Seraph blinked, thinking about what she had said. _Perhaps it is automatic. _He then widened his eyes. She called him… "Fiona, did you just call me _Tails_?"

She gasped silently and covered her mouth in embarrassment. She hadn't meant it, but it slipped out on its own. "What?" She asked, feigning innocence, "I don't think I did that."

Seraph shook his head and walked out of the brig, soon followed by Fiona and Disturbed. Why did that name mean so much to him? He scrunched his ace in concentration, to such a degree of focus that he didn't see the wall he walked into absentmindedly.

Disturbed patted him on the back and let out a low chuckle. "What's the matter… uh…?"

"Seraph." He completed, knowing he hadn't introduced himself. "My name's Seraph Faron."

Disturbed shrugged. "Okay; what's the matter, Seraph?"

The twin-tailed fox shook his head and stared at the wall. He felt along its metal exterior and let out a slow sigh. "I don't know; that's what's bothering me. Some things seem important to me, but I don't know why, like my fear of lightning and the name _Miles 'Tails' Prower_."

Disturbed contemplated his newly found friend's problem and snapped his fingers. "It's probably a residual memory." He explained. "Assuming you've lost your memory…"

"Which I have."

"Yeah, anyway, it's probably a memory that you used to have, lingering over and giving you subconscious urges or suggestions." He flicked Seraph in the forehead. "Perhaps you experience something with lightning in the past? Perhaps _Miles 'Tails' Prower _was the name of a good friend or family member?"

Fiona felt her stomach tighten in guilt. She clenched her heart, knowing she had to keep lying so he would give her another chance. She saw Disturbed glare in her direction, but she thought nothing of it. He then patted Seraph on the back. He softly whispered into his ear, "I don't show it often, but I can be friendly too."

Seraph looked back at him in mild shock. Disturbed looked around and then whispered, "But, if you tell anyone about this, I will cut your throat out and hang you from the tallest tree on Mobius, just to watch your blood rain down."

He smiled meekly, as he was starting to become used to the sadist's personality. Seraph looked at his watch and noticed that it was getting late. He started walking, and the other two merely followed, wishing to know where the rookie was going. Seraph glanced back at his watch often to check for directions, but eventually, he made it to where he had set out to go.

The exit.

The three walked out, into the dry planes of the Great Unknown. True to Fiona's words, the base sat on the edge of a cliff. They walked round until the base was no longer in their way and they sat on the edge, letting their legs dangle down.

He never really took the time to glance at hi apparel. He noticed the white gloves on his hands and the red and white shoes on his feet. In some odd way, the clothing made him happy, though he wasn't entirely sure why.

In the distance, they watched the sun sink into the horizon. Through the dust and clouds, there were many hues of orange and purple to be seen. "It's sure is nice outside, huh?" Seraph commented.

Fiona nodded, still captivated by the scene. Disturbed was just lying back. "Meh, it's not so great." He muttered, causing Fiona to look back at him, confused.

Disturbed noticed and decided to explain. "I'm more of a night person. I like the way the moon casts its glow on everything. It's softer and less harsh than the sun."

Seraph nodded. "That seems like a good reason."

Disturbed then looked around in a suspicious manner. "Well, it also hides me while I'm out on a killing spree."

Seraph sweated nervously, but it was to be expected when you met a borderline psychopath who was hell bent on causing fear. But, when he looked at the fading daylight, he felt nothing but comfort. He knew not what tomorrow would bring, or the next day, but he was going to enjoy the now.

He laid back and shut his eyes, attempting to get some rest for the next day's activities. He looked to his left ad noticed that Fiona was already asleep while Disturbed was out and about, doing who knew what.

He felt something latch on to him and he noticed that the red vixen had latched herself to him in her sleep. He smiled and shut his eyes, letting the calm of sleep take him for the night.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Okay, a small message. If you need a good website for listening to music that I put in here, go to Grooveshark. That is all.**

**Disclaimer: Characters are rightfully owned by Archie and Sega. I own this plot, Noble Six gave me Disturbed.**

* * *

><p>Outside Freelancer Headquarters<p>

June-19-4286

6:42 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"River Flows in You" by: Yiruma**__]_

Disturbed stared down the edge of the cliff, thinking thoughts you wouldn't imagine to come from him. He wondered if the war against Robotnik would ever end; if he could ever go back to the life he once had, instead of being in a militant force.

He wondered if he'd ever live the normal life of a professional killer, a profession he always dreamed of having. To be able to do his favorite thing for a living, it was his one true wish in life. Here, in an army bound by regulation, he felt confined. There were always missions to do, or there were those moments where he'd be locked in the brig, all because of what the Director had done to him.

Granted, he liked his enhanced strength, speed, and all of that, but he missed the freedom. He could look upon the scenery for hours upon end, and fully embrace everything it had to offer; the soft grass, the lively wildlife, the passing people, the bright colors… okay, maybe not the bright colors and the people so much, but he generally loved sight-seeing.

There were some people he genuinely cared about, such as those that he threatened so nonchalantly, and those that he messed with. People he didn't care about were dead to him, one way or another. People hated him, but then again, he hated them with twice as much malice. He stood up and walked around, taking in the vision of the rising sun. He looked at the dust in the air, seeing the reds and oranges that floated about the atmosphere.

He took in a deep breath and exhaled. Right now, he was at true peace.

He looked down and saw Seraph and Fiona cuddling up. He chuckled silently, knowing how surprised they would be when they woke up. He reached for his hip holster and took out a Kodak camera. He smirked devilishly; he was going to make that moment last, whether or not they liked it.

The flash on the camera blinked with light and he looked down at the screen, seeing the two of them cuddling up, forever frozen in time. Now, he was going to mess with them.

He leaned in toward Seraph's ear and whispered darkly, "Seven days."

Seraph's eyes immediately widened and he shot up from his sleeping position, yelping loudly for a second. He then saw Disturbed, attempting to hide a grin, and he glared at him. He flicked the dark reptilian on the forehead and said. "That was _not _funny."

"Yes it was." Disturbed argued, still trying to hold back his laughter. "But not as funny as this." He pulled out his camera and showed Seraph the photograph he had taken. He noticed Seraph's dark red blush and he laughed even harder.

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

**~ (**_"A people free to choose will always choose peace."-__**Ronald Reagan**_**) ~**

_[Now Playing: __**"Eruption" by: Van Halen**__]_

…_**Syaoron the Fox presents…**_

…_**Using Material from Archie and Sega…**_

…_**As Well as Various Music and Themes…**_

_**RESURGENCE**_

_**Chapter 3**_

_**Truth Behind Lies**_

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Knothole

June-19-4286

7:16 Mobius Time

The sun was still rising as the town of Knothole slowly arose from their nightly slumber. Birds chirped about in the morning, attempting to find their families a morning meal. Dewdrops fell from leaves after becoming too heavy, leaving puddles in some areas.

But it was on a day so fine that Sonic Hedgehog absolutely refused to get out of his bed. He claimed to be tired, but he had plenty of other things to think about. Who was that fox he saw yesterday? He may have had a little more muscle mass and those scars, but he looked so much like his little buddy.

Maybe talking with Sally about it would help clear his head. He swung his legs off the bed and hopped onto the floor groggily, stretching out his limbs and giving a mighty yawn. He put on his socks and shoes, pulled on his gloves, and pushed open the door, walking out into the small community.

_[Now Playing: __**"Wake Me up When September Ends" by: Green Day**__]_

It was quite small, perhaps holding a population of little over 500 Mobians. All had lost their homes due to Robotnik's enslavement ten years prior. He clenched his fist as he reveled over that day, ten years ago. He was only six years of age then, but he remembered it clear as crystal. The screaming people; the mass murder; his own near robotization, it was all implanted in his memory.

Rather than cower in trauma though, these moments made the hedgehog who he was; a proud Mobian who fights for the freedom of others. He decided to take a stroll through town, rather than dash past everything as he normally did.

It was on very rare occasions that the hedgehog ever slowed down, having quite a fast paced life style. Today, he wanted at least one moment of calm. He would have a little meet and greet with the passing civilian, maybe talking about their life before the takeover, and how they wanted to live after Robotnik's reign was over.

It was on this stroll that he passed by a fellow Freedom Fighter, Bunnie Rabbot. She basically wore a purple leotard, being that everything below her waist was roboticized, as well as her left arm. "Well, hey Sugah-hog!" she greeted him with her trademark southern drawl. "How're ya holdin' up?"

Sonic gave her a quick smirk and flashed a thumbs-up pose. "I'm still running, Bunnie." He responded confidently, bringing a smile to rabbit's face. "Do you know where I can find Sal?"

Bunnie pointed behind her and rolled her eyes. "She's havin' another _talk_ with Antoine. Sometimes, that coyote should just keep his mouth shut, 'r he's gonna lose it."

Sonic shrugged, knowing Antoine was probably asking Sally for her hand in love and failing once more. "Thanks, Bunnie." He told her before running over to where Sally was supposed to be.

Lo and behold, Sally was rejecting Antoine for yet another attempt at her heart. The coyote walked away dejectedly as Sonic approached. "Having another problem with Ant, Sal?"

Sally groaned. "You don't even know the half of it."

Sonic chuckled slightly under his breath before remember the reason he had come. "Hey, Sally, could I talk to you about something?"

Sally raised an eyebrow to him and smirked. "No, Sonic, you can't go on another chilidog run."

Sonic face palmed himself. He knew he should've been expecting that, but he brushed it off. "No. It's about yesterday's mission."

"You mean the one where I told you to shut down the generator?" Sally asked while Sonic nodded. "You blew up the entire building! It was in smoldering ruin when we got there!"

"I know Sal, I know." He responded, before realizing he was shaking. He had only narrowly escaped that mission alive. He took a deep breath in to calm himself and continued, "The truth is, I didn't blow up the building."

"Oh sure, it exploded all on its own."

Sonic groaned, becoming tired of her constantly shooting him down. "No, someone else did."

Sally sighed and massaged her temple. Sonic was _supposed _to leave the generator at least recognizable so they could salvage it for parts. That was impossible now. "Then who did it?" She asked, becoming irritated.

"It was a guy who called himself Seraph Faron." Sonic explained. "He was a Mobian fox, about Tails' size. He had a blue eye and a red eye, he had some kind of tattoo on his face, and he had _two _tails!"

Sally crossed her arms and narrowed her brow. "Sonic, are you suggesting that this fox is actually Tails?"

The blue hedgehog paused in his thoughts and let that hope slip away. The fox didn't even recognize him. "No, but I want to know why he was there. He hacked into the generator, took five red canisters, and shot the last one, blowing up the generator."

Sally widened her eyes at the mention of the red canisters. She reached for her hip and pulled out her pocket computer. The small device flipped open and was accompanied by its internal A.I. system, named _Nicole_. "Nicole, scan database for a cylindrical item that has a red glow." She ordered the machine. "Filter results with the word _generator_."

After several small computing noises were made, Nicole's holographic projector lit up. The machine's holographic appearance was a brown lynx wearing a draping purple dress. She held out her hand and the small red canister appeared in her hand. "This is a Proton Energy Core, Sally." Nicole explained. "These are used mostly for powering massive generators. The PECs also have an incredible explosive potential, as they are very unstable."

Sally nodded and folded up the computer, shutting off the light. She pocketed the machine and looked back at Sonic with mild worry. "Sonic, whoever this person is, he can't be up to any good." She stated firmly. "We'll watch out for him when we go back to Robotropolis today."

He nodded as he walked back to his hut. He was going to have an interesting mission today; he just felt it.

_[Stop Music]_

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Robotropolis

June-19-4286

12:16

_[Now Playing: __**"Scouting the Enemy" on: Modern Warfare 3 Original Soundtrack**__]_

Sonic waited in the darkness of an alley, hiding away from the passing patrols. Though his blood was rushing and the adrenaline was pumping, this hedgehog was far from excited. Nonetheless, he took it seriously. He would have no more losses, like his little brother's.

He tapped his foot in impatience, awaiting the call from his partners to confirm that they had ascertained their position. He heard a noise behind him and turned quickly, noting that it was only a rat. He had been on the lookout for that _Seraph _person, just as a secondary objective.

There was radio scramble in the background. "Hey, Sal, where are you?" He said over his wrist communicator.

There was more scrambling before a voice replied to the hedgehog, "Bunnie and I aren't in position yet. Not everyone can break the sound barrier, so calm yourself and don't worry. _We _will call _you _when we get there, got that?"

He noticed that she had shut her radio off, apparently blocking out his signal. He groaned once more, knowing that this was going to be a long day.

He looked up toward the rooftops, watching for any snipers that could possibly have their sights on him. Though the polluted atmosphere gave little helpful lighting, the lights on the rooftops did, and he was able to tell clearly that there were about four bots on the roof of the building across the street from his alley, though they didn't have long range weaponry on them.

He breathed a silent sigh of relief and returned to hiding against the dumpster he had chosen to take residence behind. He could feel his heart pound as a patrol of SWAT bots marched right past his alley way, unaware of his presence.

He decided to take another peek at the rooftop across the street to check on the bots. When he swerved to look at it, he found no bots there. Instead, he spotted a group of three people. He couldn't recognize two of them from the distance, but all he needed was the first one; the same twin-tailed fox he had seen the day before.

Throwing the mission's success to the wind, he clambered onto the rooftops and began following them. He followed swiftly as they bounded across the buildings with superb silence. A bit of radio scrambling came into his ears and he heard Sally's voice softly scolding, "Where do you think you're going? We need to focus on the mission."

"Sal, it's the guy I saw yesterday." Sonic replied. "I need to follow him and see what he's up to."

There was silence over the radio for a while until Sally replied, "Fine, we'll rendezvous with you, where ever you end up."

He shut off the communication line and kept going forward. He noticed them looking at each other, as if talking, and he wondered what it was about. He thought he saw one of their eyes glance in his direction and he dived behind a vent on his current building. Peeking just around the corner, he noticed they had stopped and were conversing about something, the details of which he couldn't hear.

Fiona continued to look warily at the vent which Sonic was hiding behind and he leaned into his group. "He's still following us." She whispered to them.

Seraph and Disturbed nodded and took a quick glance at the vent. Disturbed grew a vicious smile on his face and Seraph noticed. He frowned and shook his head. "He doesn't pertain to the mission, but we'll subdue him if he becomes a nuisance."

Disturbed lost his enthusiasm and nodded. They then continued their travel along the rooftops. When Sonic was sure they wouldn't see him, he rushed out from hiding and began following them, keeping just under the speed of sound so as not to break the sound barrier.

They would stop along their path sometimes, conversing about something before moving on. He noticed them descending below the roofs, so he played along and sank back into the dank streets of the mechanized city.

He stalked them from afar, rushing from cover for split seconds only to dive back behind a wall or trash can. He'd find out their intention, if it took him every ounce of his will.

He watched them walk into a building and he followed suit, walking in minutes after them so they wouldn't suspect anything. He hid behind a pillar amidst the room as they searched the room, what for, he couldn't imagine.

"What are the materials we're looking for again?" He heard one of the figures say. Now that he took a better look, he realized that the speaking figure was a black reptilian of some kind.

Now that he had better lighting, he examined the second figure and widened his eyes in realization. _What is Fiona doing with those guys? _He thought while continuing to sneak about the room.

"We're looking for fuse wells, suspension lugs, nose plugs, wires, any components in that general category." Fiona answered while continuing to search diligently.

He noticed Seraph raise an eyebrow to Fiona while continuing his search. "Don't those all fall into the category of _bomb components_?"

Fiona nodded. "Yes, what did you think the proton energy cores were for?"

Sonic's ear twitched. He had heard of that item this morning, during his talk with Sally! _But, that was the canister that __**seriously **__blew up when Seraph shot it! That would make a huge explosion!_

He saw the reptile grin maliciously. "I do believe our uninvited guest has heard enough, don't you?"

Sonic's heart practically stopped. "I think you're right, Disturbed." Fiona confirmed.

Before the hedgehog could even contemplate how they had found him out, he already had his arm pinned behind his back in an arm lock. The twin-tailed fox that had his arm chuckled. "Well, if it isn't mister hero?" He said with extreme sarcasm.

_[Stop Music]_

When he brought Sonic out from behind his cover, Fiona almost visibly froze up. Disturbed narrowed his eyes and glanced at her for a second before turning back to their guest. "You know this hedgehog, Seraph?"

Seraph nodded. "In my mission to retrieve the PECs, he appeared out of the blue. He helped me take down a couple robots, but looked at me awkwardly a lot; called himself _Sonic._"

Disturbed then shifted his vision back to Fiona. "Well, Fiona? Do you know this hedgehog?"

She looked a little nervous when she answered. "Yeah, I fought him back when I was in the Suppression Squad. He's okay; he and the Freedom Fighters have the same resolve as us."

Sonic looked skeptically at her. "The same resolve, huh?" He question. "Last time I checked, you were against us."

"Note how you said _last time_. I've changed since then."

The hedgehog sighed, irritated. "Then, you might want to know that my little bro died recently."

Fiona feigned surprise and gasped a little. "Tails died, really?"

Seraph's heart skipped a beat when heard that name. _Who is this 'Tails' person? _He thought. _Why do I feel this way when they bring him up?_

Sonic noticed Seraph's flinch and thought he might've struck upon something. "Seraph, you don't happen to _know _Tails, do you?"

Fiona punched Sonic in the face, silencing him. She would _not _have him bringing that up. Disturbed seemed to take notice, but returned to staring at the hedgehog that stood in front of him.

"Can I have my way with him, Seraph?" Disturbed asked. "I haven't had my daily dose of _fear _yet."

Seraph swished his hand aside, as if dismissing the idea. "Go ahead, but leave him in a _sane _state when you're done with him."

Disturbed smiled eerily once more and let out a cackle of glee while staring at his victim. He looked Sonic in the eye and his irises turned black. Sonic shivered and soon felt a feeling of vertigo and his vision blacked out.

_[Now Playing: __**"Toxicity" by: System of a Down**__]_

When did he regain his vision? He couldn't tell, as the surrounding environment was a black abyss. The only thing he could define clearly was his body and his white shadow. He looked in the opposite direction of where his shadow was and spotted nothing to give off the strange negative color.

He felt something graze his shoulder and he quickly turned around. He saw nothing at first, until he spotted the extra white shadow. It was in the shape of the black reptile he had seen before. He heard a low grumble that slowly evolved into a deep chuckle that made him shudder. He noticed that there was nothing attached to the shadow.

He assumed that, until he noticed the eyes above the base of the shadow. One was a hazelnut brown while the other was a putrid yellow. The pupils of both the eyes were merely vertical slits. "Hello, hedgehog." The black mass said.

Sonic thought that his body was camouflaged into the black, but he was proven wrong when the white shadow began to flow up and fill the empty space of the reptilian's body. His body was shown in opposite colors, with black skeletal forearms and hands while the remainder of his body was white. "I am Disturbed."

Sonic raised his eye brow and began to back away. "As if that wasn't already obvious." He commented while Disturbed seemed to do a face palm.

"No, imbecile, that's my name!" Disturbed yelled at him, causing Sonic to cringe. He laughed softly at the flinch, which he thought was childish. "What's the matter _Sonic_?" He asked him.

The blue hedgehog felt his body stiffen up, as if he couldn't move. Disturbed walked toward him and let his bony claw move across his cheek. Sonic glared angrily and struggled to move, but he couldn't. Disturbed then growled darkly and Sonic squinted his eyes, as if afraid.

Disturbed leaned toward his ear and whispered softly. "What is it, Sonic?" He could practically feel the hedgehog shiver again. "Are you afraid? Or maybe, you're a little _disturbed_?"

He swiped his claw across Sonic's face, drawing blood. Sonic cringed as best as he could while frozen in place.

"This is my world." Disturbed then backed away, extending his arms out and smiling sinisterly. "Welcome to hell!" He shouted and Sonic felt everything go dark again.

When he reopened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was that his vision was limited to only a few millimeters by something. He felt the material in front of him touch him, and he figured his head was in a fleece-made bag. He moved his feet and hands and realized they were covered in the bags as well. The second thing he noticed was that he was lying down on some kind of table.

While he continued to analyze his situation, he noticed that his feet were beginning to get wet, as if someone had turned on a faucet. He shivered, having his skin being met by the thing he was most afraid of.

Water.

He knew the water was probably soaked into the bag by now, and he didn't like it at all. It began to seep over the table, soaking his back with the liquid. He felt his hands become wet with the liquid and he began to hyperventilate. He had to get off of that table before he was enswathed in the water.

He tried to move, but his arms and legs were clamped to the table, leaving him at the mercy of whoever was running this torture machine.

He heard a squeak and water began to flow directly on his face. It seeped into the bag, dripping onto him and giving him a simulation of drowning. He was shaking and struggling violently, trying to get out of his restraints, but he failed miserably.

As the water poured over his face and he felt the water level rise, he found out shockingly that he was in a basin, not a table. The water level rose and it became increasingly uncomfortable. As the water poured over him and rose up from under him, he continued to struggle and actually began crying tears of his own.

The water level had risen above the rest of his body, leaving only his face to barely breathe. He soon realized he would lose that luxury as the water continued to rise.

Just before it completely enveloped him, he let out the most earsplitting wail he had ever screeched in his life, not caring for anyone who would hear. He wanted to get out; he _needed _to get out.

He felt it begin to fill his lungs and he began to splutter in breaths. He continued to scream while under the wall of water.

He couldn't hang on much longer without air, and he passed out in the water, continuing to fear for his life.

From afar, deeper in the city, Sally and Bunnie could hear the anguished cried of the hedgehog. They looked at each other with mild fear before running in the direction of the scream. Sally pulled out Nicole and opened up a holographic map of Mobotropolis.

The map showed their location using radio waves built into their watches, for example, showing two red dots running in the direction of another red dot. They turned corners and avoided SWAT bot patrols on their way. The noticed some heaps of trash here and there from recently destroyed robots, of which she assumed were either from Sonic, or the _Seraph _he went on about.

When they arrived, they saw Sonic lying on the floor. He appeared to be unconscious, weeping in his sleep while curling up in a fetal position. He shivered and shook in his sleep, and they could see he was clearly disturbed by whatever had done this to him.

A figure dropped from the ceiling, revealing the black reptilian that was hiding in the shadows. After standing up, Disturbed made a mocking curt bow to them. "Hello, ladies." He greeted them darkly. "I am Disturbed."

They switched their vision from Sonic to Disturbed and back to Sonic again, clearly confused by everything.

Disturbed then glared at them. "Your partner kept following us, endangering our mission." Disturbed told them. "We mean no bad intention, but we cannot let our mission be compromised."

Just as quickly as he had appeared, the black reptilian disappeared, leaving them to worry about Sonic's sanity. Sonic shook his head and finally woke up; he noticed that Sally and Bunnie were around him. He figured it was a bad dream, but it still left a horrible impression on his mentality. As he looked in the direction that Disturbed had run off, he grew angry at himself for getting caught up in such an illusion.

He could no longer see Disturbed, but the last words he heard before he woke up, words that made no sense, still echoed in his mind…

_When I became the sun, I shone light into the man's heart…_


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: wow... I'm not even kidding when I say this chapter is super long. I hope you have a lot of free time! R&R**

**Disclaimer: The author holds no claims to that which is owned by Archiw and Sega respectively.**

**The author lays no claim on Disturbed, being the work of "Noble Six".**

**Claimer: This author claims the plot.**

* * *

><p>Knothole Psychiatric Recovery Bay<p>

June-19-4286

20:16 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"Strangeness (Japanese: Kaii)" on: Naruto Shippuuden Original Soundtrack**__]_

On a dark night, when Sally and Bunnie returned with a frightened Sonic and a failed mission, they had quickly rushed the mentally disturbed hedgehog to the Tommy Turtle Memorial Hospital, headed by their lead doctor, Horatio Quentin Quack. When the duck doctor had spotted the hedgehog quivering in Sally's arms, he rubbed his eyes and took a second glance at him before welcoming them into a room.

Rotor and Antoine were quickly notified of their comrade's ill mindset and they arrived at the room when time allowed. They sat in chairs that were scattered around the room. They asked if Sonic wanted to lie down on the examination table, but he quickly rejected the offer with a glint of terror in his eye.

Dr. Quack soon returned, bringing with him a young hedgehog that was a deep yellow in color. He had nine spines on the back of his head that flared out in all direction, giving him a mythical appearance. "This is Gold." Quack introduced the young hedgehog, who blushed slightly and shuffled his feet. "He is a telekinetic, and as of late, our best psychiatrist."

After settling Gold in, Dr. Quack left the premises, leaving them to converse on Sonic's nightmare. Gold's body began glowing with a hazy grey energy and he closed his green eyes, opening them back up to reveal grey irises. "Tell me, Sonic, what did you experience that has you all shook up?"

Sonic fidgeted with his hands as he explained. "Well, in the dream, there was a black reptile named Disturbed. Everything in the world was negative in color though, so he was white rather than black." Sonic and Gold shuddered as his memories were probed. "He said 'Welcome to Hell'; then I blacked out and woke up in a bath tub."

Gold raised an eyebrow at him. "A _bath tub_?"

Sonic shrugged before nodding. "Well, I couldn't tell because I had a fleece bag over my head. I also had these bags covering my hands and feet." Gold continued to take notes as he listened to Sonic's tale. "Someone had turned on a faucet and was filling up the tub and pouring water all over my head, making me feel like I was drowning."

Sonic was shaking as he told it, letting the terrible memories return to him. "I really felt like I was drowning, but I woke up eventually."

When the story was finished, the grey aura around Gold died out and his eyes returned to their natural green color. "Well Sonic, your reaction to this dream is natural." He concluded. "From what my incredibly amazing mind reading skills tell me-"

_Show off, _Rotor thought as Gold continued.

"-that you are afraid of water, thus it is easy to see why such a dream would hurt you so." Gold then stroked his chin in thought. "The question is; why did you conjure up such a nightmare?"

As the words left his mouth, Bunnie came to a conclusion about what Disturbed had said. "That's coz 'is mind didn't make the dream." She clarified. "Disturbed did."

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

**~ (**_"A terrorist is someone who has a bomb, but doesn't have an air force."__**-William Blum**_**) ~**

_[Now Playing: __**"Eruption" by: Van Halen**__]_

…_**Syaoron the Fox presents…**_

…_**Using Material from Archie and Sega…**_

…_**As Well as Various Music and Themes…**_

_**RESURGENCE**_

_**Chapter 4**_

_**Bing-Bada-Boom**_

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Freelancer H.Q.

July-4-4286

6:19 Mobius Time

A fortnight passed by, and some members of Alpha Squad had gathered for their early morning breakfast routine. Seraph and Fiona were the first to get out of their bunk and acquire their gear. Seraph strapped on his belt with two pistol holsters for his M1911s and Fiona merely pulled on her articles of clothing.

They looked back at the rest of the large room, in which the other present members of Alpha Squad slept. He noticed Disturbed hanging off the side of his bed, grinning in his little fantasy; which he believed to hold endless murder for his sole pleasure.

He looked to the bunk above Disturbed's, noticing the green bird that was snoring away. Fiona said his name was 'Bean'. He called himself "the dynamite" but Seraph believed him to be a form of duck. The tattoo burnt into his chest was XV; "the Devil".

The only others that were in the room were a male and female jaguar, sleeping together in the same bed. Ironically or coincidentally, they were both branded with VI on their shoulders and named "the Lovers". They were Alan "York" Xavier and Alicia "Carolina" Xavier, male and female respectively.

"Come on, Alpha Squad!" Fiona yelled into the sleeping quarters. "Up and at 'em. We have a special mission today!"

They all almost immediately rose from their sleeping quarters and widened their eyes, remembering what today would signify. It would be a great victory against Robotnik today, and they all wanted in on it.

As Bean jumped down from his bunk, nearly lading on Disturbed's head, he passed by them and gave Fiona a smirk while he gave a cautions glance toward Seraph, which didn't go unnoticed by Disturbed. Alan and Alicia also rose from their bed and collected their katanas.

Bean, while not having any combat skill, made up for it with his bomb know-how, always carrying a sack on his back holding a variety of explosives. He complained this morning, as he had done every morning for the past few days, that Disturbed had mixed up the C-4 with the C-12. As always, Disturbed feigned innocence, claiming that he had nothing to do with the incident.

Seraph rolled his eyes at their antics and continued to prepare for what would possibly be one of his most difficult missions up to date. They all gathered their belongings, took a quick shower, grabbed some grub, and reported to the debriefing room for dispatching.

_[Now Playing: __**"Planning the Heist" on: Red vs. Blue Season 9 Original Soundtrack**__]_

The director paced slowly in his room. "All calculations have been made and the ship is ready for take-off." A voice told him. He turned around to find none other than the councilor standing before him.

He nodded and returned to his pacing. "Excellent." He said while shutting down the terminal. "Where is Alpha?"

"Their already in the debriefing room, sir."

The Director nodded and walked out of his room, into the hardly lit room. "Alpha, this will be the hardest mission you undertake by far." He told them. He continued to pace back and forth in front of them, as if heightening the anxiety.

"I cannot guarantee that _all _of you will come back in one piece." He admitted, causing some of them to gulp in fear. "But, if the mission goes as planned, we will have won a great victory against tyranny." He continued his speech, hoping to inspire some confidence. "Number 19, you have the floor."

Fiona nodded and she motioned them to crowd around the holo-table. A map of Robotropolis appeared suddenly on the table. "Alright kiddies, this is where the efforts of all our previous missions will be shown." She explained. "As you know, we've been collecting components for bombs for the past few days…"

She faded off as a lynx shuffled into the room, carrying a completely steel box. "We finally finished making them!" He huffed, breathing loudly as he set the box in the center of the holo table.

Fiona thanked the lynx mechanic and continued with her explanation. "We will be divided into two teams: Alpha and Bravo." Five red blips appeared on buildings in Robotropolis. "These markers show the locations that we will be bombing." She continued. "Team A will set bombs on south side of the line and Team B will set the bombs on north side." As she spoke, a red line appeared, dividing the sections into two portions.

"Fiona, Disturbed, and I will be on Team A." Seraph designated. "That leaves Bean, Alan, and Alicia to form Team B."

Alicia raised an eyebrow as she did the math. "Wait, wouldn't that mean that we bomb fewer areas?"

"Yes, it would." Fiona confirmed. "However, those areas are guarded more heavily than ours."

"The Director will be flying the base over the first objective for each team." Fiona continued. A large ship appeared on the map, flying over the objectives.

"Wait, the base can _fly_?" Alan questioned, to which Fiona nodded.

"After the bombs have been planted and their timers set, all that's left to do is get ourselves out of Robotropolis." She finished, leaving them to contemplate the remainder of the plan.

"Alpha Squad, you are dismissed. Complete your mission with admiralty." The Director ordered.

"Yes sir!" they replied and walked out of the room, preparing for the fight that was yet to come.

They could feel the rumbling of the ship as its roaring engines started up. They figured that, as long as the base had stayed idle, its engines were rusty from not being used in a long time. Until they were in a decent position to be deployed from, it would be more anxious waiting for them.

They did whatever they needed to in their spare time. Bean loaded up on explosives, checking to make sure the C-12 was not _desecrated _by the dynamite. Alan and Alicia polished and sharpened their katanas, explaining that only the finest would do for such a vital mission.

Seraph polished off his two M1911s in the, meanwhile. Taking a moist rag, he wiped the pistols down and gave them a shiny gloss coating. He then cleaned out the bore of the barrel with a rag and rod, twisting around to get off the excess residue.

Fiona, who fought merely using her combat skills, had nothing to polish off, besides her technique, which she thought was in peak condition. Disturbed walked up to her after he was finished polishing a small dagger of his and asked her, "Fiona, do you know anything about Seraph's past?"

She froze up all of a sudden, not moving a muscle in her body. She breathed slowly and silently, trying to calm herself. "No, why would you think that?"

Disturbed sighed and shook his head. He looked back up and gave Fiona a menacing glare. "Okay, let me rephrase that." He then grabbed her throat and pinned her to the wall. "Do you know anything about _Tails' _past?"

Fiona let out a gasp and widened her eyes. "How do you-"

"Oh, please," He scolded her. "I knew something was up the instant you accidentally called him Tails a couple days ago."

He began to squeeze her throat with his bony hand and gave her a stare of pure disgust. "Also, you act oddly whenever someone mentions his past or his name."

"But how?" She questioned him. "I thought I hid my emotions pretty well."

"And that's where you're wrong." He brought his free hand's finger up and poked her forehead, drawing a small amount of blood. He licked his finger, sighing in ecstasy. "You see, my power doesn't just limit me to detecting fear. I'm an empath, and as such, I can detect and induce all ranges of emotions. Whenever these conversations come up concerning _Seraph, _you are always quick to become anxious."

He then growled angrily, causing her to flinch fearfully. "Now tell me; _who_ is he, really?"

She was now crying a steady stream of tears, but not hiccupping hysterically. "I said, I don't know an-"

"LIAR!" He shouted at her. "Don't tell me that, not when I can detect your emotions!"

She was hesitant at first, hoping to keep this to herself and the Director. But, she saw that he wouldn't let her leave until she spoke, so she started her story. "His name is Miles 'Tails' Prower and he used to be part a Freedom Fighter, which Sonic also is. He was a genius who loved working with mechanics, especially his Tornado airplane. I deceived him in order to gain access to the Freedom Fighters when I was back in the Suppression Squad-"

"So, that's why you don't want these memories resurfacing?"

She nodded slightly. "Please, that's the most I know. Let me go."

Disturbed frowned at her, knowing otherwise, but backed off and continued to prepare for the mission. He walked about, polishing his 8 inch dagger. He raised it into light to get a better look at it. The butt of the handle had a black skull on it, which had a snake coming out of the mouth. The snake coiled around the handle, forming the grip and embedded itself into the blade, which was curved. The actual blade was made of dark purple diamond, making it unbreakable.

He had meandered around the base for a while, taking in what he had extracted from Fiona. He was going to hold her in contempt, knowing that she was hiding from _Seraph _what was rightfully his. After reasserting himself in reality, he noticed a nearby window. He looked at the polluted city bellow and figured they would be deploying soon.

_[Now Playing: __**"Falling Towards the Sky" on: Red vs. Blue Season 9 Original Soundtrack**__]_

The members of Alpha Squad gathered by the hangar bay and awaited their dropping. No sooner than they arrived had the Director given the order to lower the bay doors, revealing the cloudy environment outside.

He turned to them and nodded firmly. "You know the drill, Alpha." He addressed them. He gave a brief salute to them, which they returned stoically. "Now get out there, and show our enemies just what you're made of."

They all rushed towards the windy open hangar doors, breathed in deeply and used ten seconds of insane courage to take a leap of faith. Within seconds, they felt the rush of adrenaline that was brought with their sky diving escapade.

As they fell through the air, they noticed that a couple of hover units were flying up to engage them. Bean reached into his bag and pulled out a small plastic object. He wrapped duct tape around the small object and stamped it onto the flying vehicle while in mid-flight. He made a rude face in front of the windshield of the hover unit before leaping off and clicking a button, causing the plastic object to explode violently, destroying the hover unit.

"Score one for plastic explosive!" the green bird shouted while he spread his wings to slow the descent, landing on a building with the supreme grace that only a Mobian of the avian branch could obtain.

The Lovers were having their own trouble with the hover unit on their tail. While falling, they aimed their decent toward the vehicle and drew their katanas, taking a quick slash at the unit and letting gravity run its course. The four pieces of hover unit that fell consequentially flattened anything below them.

Seraph nodded to Fiona and he maneuvered his way over to her, avoiding the incoming laser fire. She grabbed onto his wrists and flipped, using the momentum to send Seraph flying at the hover craft. He extended a fist out and punched straight through the vehicle, leaving scrap in his wake. He spread himself out, catching wind and slowing his fall, allowing Fiona to catch up with him. He nodded to Disturbed and Fiona while they nodded back.

Just as the building they were to land on came rushing up to meet them, they made a quick flip and absorbed the impact while taking off forward.

"Come in Bravo Team." Seraph called over the communicator in his ear. "Mission is a go; rendezvous outside of the city once primary objective is complete."

"Affirmative, Alpha leader; proceeding to objective Delta now." Bean replied through the ear piece and he shut off communication. With the attention they caught, Seraph knew this mission would only get harder. Things were about to get hot.

They jumped off of their building and met a patrol of SWAT bots, engaged and ready for combat. Waving his hand forward, Seraph gave the order to attack the hostiles, which they obeyed with gusto. Fiona lunged forward, planting a powerful kick on the nearest bot, causing it to keel over. She then grabbed its torso and flung it back in the direction of its comrades.

She reveled in her small victory until she was brought back to reality by the distinctive sound of laser fire barely missing her head. Disturbed took out his diamond dagger and threw it at the nearest bot, piercing the neck area and coming out the other side. He then took the knife while it was still inside the robot and plunged it into the robot behind it, using its mechanical body as cover.

Seraph finished the job at last when he took the last bot and jerked its head in an awkward direction, leaving it motionless. He took one last quick check for any more existing bots, but found nothing but shrapnel. Only then did he lower his guard and nod to his teammates, signifying the lack of enemy presence.

_[Stop Music]_

They entered the building to find their first important target, the main factory. It was this factory that constantly replenished Robotnik's army, day in and day out. It would also mean a great loss in numbers for the fat dictator if the factory was destroyed.

The Freedom Fighters themselves had never come close to destroying it, as it was always heavily guarded. Seraph however, thought they would manage this without a sweat.

SWAT bots were constantly coming off of the production line, being pieced together by other machines, ready to serve their malicious master. This, of course, would not come to pass.

Seraph pulled one of the PEC bombs and placed it in the most strategic point of the factory; the very middle, of course. He clicked a few buttons on the exterior of the bomb and set it to go off in seven minutes, giving them enough time to clear its immense blast radius.

"Let's clear out of here guys." Seraph suggested. "We don't want to be caught in the explosion."

They nodded and exited the structure. According to the Director, the bomb was specially infused with unstable radiation to increase the blast radius and destructive power; not something you want to be caught in the middle of.

Fiona turned on the holo-map in her watch and gave it a couple glances. "Our next objectives are the main and backup generator." She clarified for them while checking the coordinates.

As she gave them the location of the next building, they veered off the street and into an alley to reestablish themselves. "Okay," Fiona told them. "The first generator is due north from here, about 500 meters."

They only nodded in response as they started their running again. It was not too long before they heard and saw the explosion; the dome of fire and flames rapidly expanding as they burnt and obliterated everything in is range as the buildings crumbled to the ground.

_Okay, now we have about a ten minute window till Robotnik is able to pinpoint our location,_ Seraph thought while continuing to run. He could see the generator building now, being guarded by a small platoon of bots.

These were not the run-of-the-mill SWAT bots; rather they were in a red monochrome with black visor. "I think I liked the dark blue monochrome better." Disturbed sarcastically commented. He then drew his dagger and began slashing at the small strike team.

They had obviously acquired a better reaction time, as the bot he had attacked swished its hand out and grabbed Disturbed's wrist. He glared at the bot as it aimed the wrist laser at him. He was saved the embarrassing death only when Seraph shot the metallic hand off with his pistol. The robot looked in confusion at his hand, and then at his captive.

Disturbed merely growled and pummeled the robot in its visor with his unrestricted hand. The head caved in with the rest the visor, deactivating immediately. He pulled his hand out of the dead robot's grasp and gave a glare to the robots, though it intimidated them not.

They simply stared back and raised their wrist lasers to their heads. Seraph shook his head and sighed. "You know, if it didn't work the first time…" He suddenly rushed toward the robot with superb speed and let loose a crushing kick to the robot, knocking it into its comrades. "… It's probably not going to work a second time." He finished his statement as he proceeded with tearing the bots to shreds.

Disturbed walked up to his partner and playfully punched him in the shoulder. "Show off." He muttered, just loud enough for Seraph to here, and the twin-tailed fox chuckled heartily.

He nodded to them and they regained their serious personalities, continuing into the base to plant the explosives. As Seraph set the timer, Disturbed and Fiona guarded his back.

After all was said and done, they immediately dashed off to the next objective. "What are the bearings, Fiona?" Disturbed shouted to her in mid run.

"About a kilometer from here!" She shouted back.

Seraph started to look nervous. "That does clear the blast radius, right?"

"It should."

He then breathed a sigh as they continued running. They arrived in what seemed like no time at all to the back-up generator.

Seraph looked around at the building. Something was wrong, and he could feel it in his bones. No mission ever went this perfectly. There would always be some kind of tiny flaw that would cause huge setbacks, as Murphy's Law says. _So why, when Robotnik is completely alert to our presence, is the building completely unguarded? _Seraph thought while opening the door.

He heard the distinctive rumble of an explosion and he smirked while stepping through the dank room and toward the backup generator. He took one more glance around the room suspiciously before he began setting up the bomb.

As he finished punching in the codes, he felt the rush of the wind and the smelt another presence, and that could only mean a snag in the mission.

_[Now Playing: __**"Spiral" on: Red vs. Blue Season 9 Original Soundtrack**__]_

He swiftly put up his arms to block an incoming projectile and felt a powerful force hit against him before bouncing off. When he uncovered his face, he saw the very same hedgehog from a few days ago. It was Sonic, the speed demon of Mobius.

Sonic rushed on, with little concern for his form. He was out for revenge. Seraph put up a block and then struck a couple of combination in, but doing little but rubbing the fastest thing on Mobius. Sonic dashed at him and he put up his guard, expecting another sloppy punch.

He was disproved as Sonic slid under him, sending his face into the floor. He rolled over quickly to avoid being stomped on and thrust his legs up, striking Sonic in the chin and knocking him back.

Sonic was about to retaliate till Fiona jumped in, grabbing Sonic's arm and twisting him unto the ground. She was planning to land a kick to his face before Sally shoved her off balance.

"Fiona? What are you doing here?" Sally questioned her, to which the red vixen only growled. They entered a combat lock, both performing successful blocks but neither of them hitting each other. It may have continued like this if Bunnie didn't heave her metallic arm at Fiona. Weren't it for her reaction time, the vixen may have lost her head, but she only ducked under the attack and flipped backward.

Disturbed appeared at her side, preparing to fight alongside her. Though he couldn't inflict illusions since he couldn't get a clear lock on their eyes, he still had his fighting skill, which he put to good use. Pulling out his diamond knife, he lunged at Sally, taking a couple swings but ended up having Sally dodge them all.

The chipmunk then put a spin on Disturbed, catching his arm and twisting it behind his back and putting him on his knees. Fiona was about to come to his aid until Bunnie launched a punch at her, causing her to bend backward to avoid damage.

Meanwhile, Sally held Disturbed at her mercy. Disturbed twisted his head round to look at her and he smirked. "What are you going to do; break my arm?"

Sally huffed and smirked right back at him. "That's not a bad suggestion." She then twisted his arm further and bent it back. With that came extreme pain to the reptilian and the distinctive crack of a broken bone. He gasped in pain as he tried to conceal his anguish. In a burst of adrenaline, he swept his leg back, tripping up Sally and releasing her grip on him.

Sally happened to roll past Sonic and Seraph, barely avoiding being trampled by them. Sonic prepared a spin-dash that Seraph wasn't prepared for and he struck the twin-tailed fox in his abdomen, giving him a deep cut across his chest. Seraph growled and retaliated with a side kick, as if he hadn't been damaged at all. He then followed up with a couple punches and finally another fierce kick.

Sonic backed from the constant blows and shook his head to clear his vision. He rushed towards Seraph with another spin-dash, but he was prepared that time. Seraph sidestepped Sonic and made a precisely timed kick toward the side of the hedgehog, knocking out of his pinball form and causing him to stumble back.

Sonic then jumped as Seraph lunged at him, and threw a round kick in midair. Tails bent his body back as he slid under his leg and punched toward the hedgehog. Sonic had spun around and intercepted the punch with another kick. Before Sonic landed, he dove toward the ground. Catching himself with his hands, he tried swing his leg down at Seraph in an axe motion.

Seraph, surprised by the sudden change in attack, barely got his arms up quick enough to block the hit. He then grabbed Sonic's leg and swept his hands, causing the hedgehog to land on his back before rolling backward.

Sonic backed away from him as he returned to Bunnie, who was up against Sally's back. They had been surrounded, though Fiona had a couple bruises and a bloody mouth while Disturbed had his broken arm. Seraph glared at them and gave a speech, "You're interfering with our mission, and for that, you must be-"

He was cut off when he heard the beeping of the bomb pick back up. He looked over at the timer and noticed that they only had one and a half minutes on the clock.

In their confusion, Sally, Bunnie, and Sonic struck back at them, knocking them all off their feet. They tried to run but were easily pursued by Fiona, Disturbed, and Seraph. Sonic, not wanting to leave his team behind, slowed down and helped during the mobile fight.

Seraph tried to talk them into stopping the fight, but it was no use, they would listen to him. As if on cue, a platoon of SWAT bots surrounded them out of the blue. Seraph knew they were pressed for time, and he would have to take them out of commission quickly.

He pulled out his pistols and began firing them dually, taking out several SWAT bots, but still leaving several behind. He then holstered his pistols and gave the command to attack the bots. Fiona and Disturbed attack relentlessly, taking them all down in a matter of seconds. They noticed that Sonic and his team were nowhere to be found, but they discarded that thought immediately.

They ran onward, in an attempt to outrun the timer on the bomb. An attempt that was not entirely accomplished.

They had run outside the lethal blast radius just as the bomb went off. The dome of enflaming gases expanded quickly and let out a fierce wave of heat. Before they were intercepted by the expanding ball of flame, Seraph dived onto his comrades and shielded them from the blast.

He felt as if he were tugged in so many directions as the shockwave threw them back into a nearby building. He lay there, after the explosion had passed and lamented about the mission.

He should've been more careful; more precise and quick, but he wasn't. As he began to black out, he noticed three hazy figures. He wasn't able to identify them before the darkness came over him.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Alright guys, here's my next chapter. I have nothing much to say besides that I love all the positive responce I get for this story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own characters that are from Archie and Sega. I don't own Disturbed, as he is owned by Noble Six**

**Claimer: I own this plot and all unpreviously mention original characters.**

* * *

><p>Robotropolis<p>

July-4-4286

21:15 Mobius time

_[Now Playing: __**"No Stone Unturned" on: Halo 3 ODST Original Soundtrack**__]_

The rubble had been spread across Robotropolis from the recent explosions. Dust clung to the air, making visibility low and breathing difficult. There were five pockets in the large city, each a kilometer wide at least and more if there were any extra explosions.

Three figures clambered out of the metal and stone ruins of the mechanized city, venturing around to see just how much damage had been done. They climbed over wreckage and bypassed other debris, finding their way out of the city.

One of the figures fell to the ground; her knees having buckled bellow her. "There's so much destruction." She spoke with a hint of sorrow. "I don't think even Robotnik would have committed such… such…"

"Such a bombing?" One of the other figures said, revealing himself to be a male in the dim of night. "Well, at least it was Butt-nik and not us."

The third figures perked her ears up. "Tha' reminds me, Sally." She muttered with a southern drawl. As she made her way into one the street, a failing street light managed to reveal her half-robot half-rabbit body before flashing out of operability. "Whatever 'appened to that Seraph guy and 'is pals?"

The female figure referred to as Sally shook her head. Those three had engaged a conflict within her, between their orientations of the battle. By their actions, they revealed themselves to be against Robotnik. On the other hand, they also fought them, though it was brought on by Sonic's need for revenge.

"I don't know Bunnie. I just don't know." She replied, unsure of what to do from then on. "I suppose we can just try to find our way back to Knothole as quickly as possible from here."

"But what if we run into _them_?" Sonic questioned her, with slight disgust leaking into his voice.

Sally gave the hedgehog a stern stare, though he couldn't see it with such bleak lighting. "Sonic, you attacked them and we don't even know who's side their on!" She scolded him, at which he cringed. "We escaped while they fought off those robots. For all we know, they didn't even make it out alive!"

Sonic sighed and lent up against a crumbling wall, massaging his forehead in guilt. "I know you don't like how we acted Sal, but we wouldn't have gotten out of there if we didn't run."

"LIKE COWARDS!" Sally shouted, letting out her building anger. She banged her fist futilely against a wall as she belted her anger out at the hedgehog. "We could've fought with them and escaped quicker! We could've given them another chance! We could've-"

"Uh, Sally-girl?" Bunnie called to her in the midst of her ranting, saving the blue blur from the speech. "You might want to take a look at this."

She walked over to the rabbit and raised her brow. "What is it, Bunnie?" She asked. It was only when she looked at a pit in the rubble that she found the source of Bunnie's staring.

There they lay, the Mobians they had fought not one hour ago.

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

**~ (**_"The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend" –__**Abraham Lincoln**_**) ~**

_[Now Playing: __**"Eruption" by: Van Halen**__]_

…_**Syaoron the Fox presents…**_

…_**Using Material from Archie and Sega…**_

…_**As Well as Various Music and Themes…**_

_**RESURGENCE**_

_**Chapter 5**_

_**Love to Hate, Hate to Love**_

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

XXXXXXXXXXX

July-5-4286

19:19 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"Cristofori's Dream" by: David Lanz**__]_

_Where… where am I? _A thought procures and echoes in the darkness. All he can hear is the sound of his own voice and the silence of the darkness. _What's going on? Where're Fiona and Disturbed?_

The twin-tailed fox swishes his head about, attempting to find his friends, but to no avail. While he walks about in the empty blackness, he is only able to see himself and the white shadow he creates.

He raises his head, in hopes of finding a light source. All he sees is a pit in the sky, blacker than the surrounding atmosphere. He diverts his eyes from the pit immediately, feeling a burning sensation in his eyes, as if it were a black sun.

All of a sudden, he finds that the surrounding environment has revealed itself. He now walks around in what appears to be a sort of tunnel system, flooding with water from the pipes above. He notices that there is a clear section of one of the pipes, showing the direction of the water flow.

Against his better knowledge, Seraph wades through the tunnels, following the pipeline. He notices that the rushing sound of the water is louder than before and the water level seemed to be dropping. As he finally met the end of his path, he walked out into a wide open room.

His shoed feet plopped against the wet floor as he approached the back of the room. He eyed the immense bars going vertically and horizontally across, as if keeping him out… or something else in.

A figure behind the bars began walking toward him. Through the bars, Seraph could tell that the figure was vulpine. As he finally came into the light, he noticed something he only saw in mirrors.

It was a perfect copy of himself; two tails and all. Well, almost perfect. The figure was less masculine. He had two blue eyes and lacked the Roman numeral scar on his face. This version of him seemed weaker, and cringed at every sound.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

As if to prove his observation, the twin-tailed copy flinched at the sound of his voice. It was more of an instinctive flinch; not real fear. The vulpine blinked his eyes and stared at Seraph longingly.

He opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out. The copy seemed to notice his mute state and pointed at a golden lock and chain bounding the two sides of the cage.

As he glanced over the strange lock, he noticed that there was no keyhole to unlock it; not even a keypad for a code. Instead, there was an engraving on the lock that faintly read, _**"In anamnesis, we find the answer."**_

_But, what is that supposed to mean? _He wondered. Cryptic messages were never a forte of his, and this one just confused the mess out of him. He rubbed the engraving on the lock as he pondered over it, coming up with no revelation on the matter.

To his surprise, the room began fading away. He backed away from the cage as it became enswathed in the blackness. It was only a matter of time before Seraph was lost in it as well, floating away with a sense of vertigo.

_[Stop Music]_

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Tommy Turtle Memorial Hospital, Knothole

July-5-4286

20:05 Mobius Time

Seraph flashed his eyes open, awaking from his prophetic dream. He almost immediately squinted at the bright light he saw, signaling that something was wrong. _If I'm not in Robotropolis… where am I?_

He sat up with a mindset of attack before the pain hit him. He felt a burning, stinging feeling all over him and he gave out a short yelp out of shock. He grimaced and decided to try moving more slowly.

He took that time to take in his surroundings. He wasn't strapped to the bed, so whoever put him here was obviously non-hostile. The room was... white, to say the least. He noticed that several machines were hooked up to him. Had he not read the IV labels on them, he would've torn them out, for fear of a poison. The person who had picked him up had most likely brought him to a hospital.

It was in this realization that he started hyperventilating. A yellow duck walked into the room, wearing copious amounts of medical objects on a hip holster. When the duck bent down to check on Seraph's condition, the twin-tailed fox grabbed him by the throat.

"Where are my teammates?" He interrogated threateningly.

The duck looked at him with a shocked expression. "Tails, what's gotten into you?" He shouted in reply, but Seraph ignored it.

"WHERE ARE THEY?" That shout had quieted the duck doctor. He was becoming impatient with this impudent doctor's inability to speak. Brought his fist back for a punch and was about send the doc reeling before he heard the door slam open again.

"Seraph!" Fiona scolded out to him. "This doctor is trying to _help _you. Stop crushing his neck."

His expression lightened and he let the doctor go, albeit hesitantly. "Sorry about the misunderstanding, doctor…"

"Quack." He answered. "I am Doctor Horatio Quentin Quack. Now Tails, lay down. You need to heal up."

Seraph gave him a look of confusion, momentarily wondering what he had meant by that. "Why did you call me that?"

"What do you mean?"

"My name is _Seraph_." The twin-tailed fox corrected him. "Even after Fiona _told _you my name, you called me Tails. Why did you call me that?"

The duck doctor cocked his head to the side. _But, that DNA test came back positive… _"Sorry lad, you just remind of him so much." He replied, comforting Seraph. He brought his hands together for a short prayer, gave a moment of silence, and reopened his eyes.

"Anyway, I have other patients to check on." Dr. Quack excused himself. "Try to stay in bed… and don't strangle the other nurses."

Seraph heard the distinctive click of the door shutting and he released a sigh. He liked the doctor… but that didn't mean he could be trusted. And now, he and Fiona had the safety of aloneness.

_[Now Playing: __**"Morning Moon" on: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Future Original Soundtrack part 1**__]_

He could no longer hear the patter of Horatio's footsteps, so he looked at Fiona, facial features lightened and malice gone. "Hey Fiona, what are we doing here?"

She would've been shocked if the doctor hadn't told her he received a mild concussion. Not much, but just enough for some memory loss. "During our bombing mission, you dove over Disturbed and I to protect us from the blast."

Seraph remained silent, letting the memories slowly come back to him. He looked at the ceiling as he lay down and let out a low, weak chuckle. "That doesn't sound like something I would do."

"Well, you did." She remarked, getting another laugh out of Seraph. She walked up next to him as he tried to get up and she pushed him back down. "Don't try to get up. You have some serious injuries."

"Oh c'mon, it can't be that bad." He said again. Fiona just shook her head, proceeding to press her finger upon his left breast. She received a yelp of pain for her actions.

"Seraph, a lot of skin and fur was burnt off in that explosion." She began to fill him in on the details. "You have three broken ribs, one of which is currently dangerously close to puncturing a lung. Not to mention the fact that your left arm is broken in three different places. You're not invincible."

As he realized the severity of his injuries, Seraph backed down and rested his head on the pillow. "How long before I can get out of here?"

"The doc said that the average person would probably recover completely in… a month." Seraph widened his eyes, giving him and appearance as if he were going to scream.

Fiona let out a laugh that kept him from doing such. "Don't worry; you're not exactly _the average person _Seraph. Considering that the genetic modification gave you enhanced healing, you'll be out of here by mid-week, tops."

He felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his chest, letting him see more clearly. He was also able to see Fiona more clearly; her body glistening in the moonlight that leaked through the nearby window.

Fiona turned her head to find Seraph deeply entranced, staring at her with no pause or blinking. "Uh, Seraph, are you okay?"

Her voice seemed to snap him out of the clause in his thoughts. He blushed a deep hue of red and look away. "Sorry. I must've had a lapse in concentration."

_Well, that was certainly awkward. _Fiona thought as she noticed Seraph's blush. _It's almost as if he likes me, or something. _She stopped her thought process right there. As she mulled over the possibility, her muzzle became a scarlet color as well.

"Aw, what a lovey-dovey moment." Seraph and Fiona were surprised by the deep voice, and both turned to see that Disturbed was standing in the doorway, with his right arm in a cast. "And the sap-of-the-day prize goes to Seraph and Fiona!" He attempted to mimic a crowds cheering –which he did quite badly, as a matter of fact –and laughed up the event afterward.

Fiona gave him a stern, threatening look for his rash comment. "Ah ah, Fiona." The reptilian taunted her. "Don't misuse that anger of yours."

A vein pulsed in her forehead and she was giving a look that could kill, multiple times. "I'm going to misuse my hand upside your face!" She shouted, slapping him across the cheek. When Disturbed recovered from the blow, there was a feint red imprint of a hand on his black cheek.

"Why Fiona, are we cross?" He asked her, using a mockingly polite tone of voice. "Does this mean we're not friends anymore?"

Fiona dragged her hand down her face. She prepared to punch him, but Disturbed drew his knife faster than lightning. For a moment, she felt fear, knowing that Disturbed was instilling it.

The reptile then dropped his knife to the floor and pulled Fiona in for a hug. "There, now we can be friends again." He said while patting her back.

The bedridden fox looked around the room, suddenly wondering why he hadn't remembered the doctor. The head doctor at H.Q. was the Councilor, and the duck doctor had claimed to be the leader of this hospital.

So… "Hey Fiona, where exactly are we?"

Fiona was released from the embracement and she looked at Seraph with a downcast expression. "Do you remember that blue hedgehog?"

"Don't answer my question with a question."

"Just answer my question."

Seraph sighed and thought back to him. "You mean the sporadic show-off that tried sabotaging our mission, right?" A mental image of the cocky hedgehog formed in his head and he began to feel angry. Fiona nodded. "Why would you ask me that?"

"Because, this is Knothole; the Freedom Fighter's headquarters. This is where Sonic lives."

_[Stop Music]_

"Wait… WHAT?" Seraph shouted in mild shock and anger. That hedgehog was the reason he was bedridden! It was that hedgehog that had almost ruined their mission and almost caused loss of life for his comrades! It was this hedgehog's actions that endangered _his own _comrades!

"Yeah, we brought you here." They all turned toward the doorway, where Sonic, Sally, and Bunnie stood. Sonic was giving a nasty glare, which Seraph returned with pleasure. The hedgehog who had spoken with such contempt went on, "You're lucky Sal didn't want me to leave you there."

Seraph could feel the rage building up inside of him. He knew a conflict would be inevitable, and he decided that the hospital's patients were more important than their feud, so he began to calm down. _Now, he's the cocky type of person. How should I go about this? _He thought, until an idea struck him.

He looked toward Sally and nodded gratefully. "It's nice to know that there are _some _reasonable people in this world."

His strategy appeared to have worked, as Sonic began fuming over the being ignored and shot down. "I hope you go to hell!" Sonic violently shouted, glaring daggers at the twin-tailed fox.

Seraph merely rolled his eyes and nonchalantly muttered, "You first." That little quip only seemed to enrage the speed demon more.

While Bunnie kept Sonic at bay from attack, Sally stepped forward and bowed slightly. "We're sorry for the misunderstanding. We assumed that you were the enemy." Her excuse seemed to touch him in some strange way, as if he had heard that voice before.

Fiona shook her head. "It's no problem, Sally. We were just carrying out orders and you happened to get… tangled up I our little bombing."

Seraph looked back and forth between the two. "Fiona, do you know this girl?" He asked her, to which he got a hesitant answer.

"Well, she's Sally." Fiona explained. "She was the princess of Mobotropolis before it was taken over by Robotnik."

Seraph gave a skeptical glance to Sally. "Shouldn't _I _be bowing to _you _in this case, Princess?"

"No, please." She said, disapproving of the gesture. "I gave up that title when I formed this resistance."

Seraph smiled with glee. "Well then…" He swung his legs over the side of the bed and hopped. He hadn't noticed before, but his left arm was in a white cast. "I ought to be getting up anyway."

Fiona gasped at his action and rushed over to him. "Seraph, you shouldn't be out of the bed! What about your injuries? You could get hurt, or –"

Seraph grabbed Fiona's shoulder with his right hand and held her down. "Fiona, contrary to popular belief, I'm not made of glass. I'm not invincible either, but I'm not made of glass." He assured her. "Besides, I'd like to shake hands with Mobius' princess."

Fiona seemed comforted by that and she backed off of him, allowing him to step forward and shake Sally's hand. "Thanks for your hospitality, princess. I'm Seraph Faron, at your service, as are Fiona and Disturbed."

This was much to Disturbed's dismay, as he glared at the chipmunk with utmost ferociousness. _Hospitality? She broke my arm in a cruel fashion! _He was about to object before Seraph stopped him.

Sally took a quick glance at the black reptilian and red vixen that stood behind him, nodding to them. "It's not a problem Seraph." She replied.

She took this time to get a good look at the fox. She took in his features; the red eye, his two tails, his height, the scar on his face… if his burnt skin had been healed and he had two blue eyes, he'd have been a picture-perfect copy of Tails! _No wonder Sonic was suggesting he was Tails. He looks so much like him!_

With the pleasantries exchanged, they were starting to come along. Progress with relations was slow, as Disturbed continued to glare death at Sally while Sonic eyed Seraph suspiciously. As they walked out of the hospital, Fiona reminded Seraph that he would need to be confined to the hospital to heal properly. Seraph objected quickly, but changed his mind when Fiona practically pleaded him to rest up, thus he returned to his bed.

Bunnie offered a tour of the village, but Fiona and Disturbed rejected it, telling her that they would get to it eventually. That left Fiona, Disturbed, Sally, and Sonic to get better acquainted with one another.

"So Fiona, what were you doing?" Sally asked, completely out of the blue.

"What do you mean by that, princess?"

"Oh stop with it Fiona." Sally began accusing her. "You were on that mission to help hinder Robotnik, even though you used to want nothing to do with him, going so far as to betray us. So _why _are you doing this?"

Fiona felt a bit uncomfortable about this, not wanting to reopen wounds. She still felt obligated to honesty somehow, and answered her question. "I'm looking for redemption, Sally." She meekly answered. "I want to be forgiven for what I've done and help end the war."

There was a short silence, letting Sally mull over this new information. While Fiona had done things in the past, the fact the she was trying to help end the war was a shock to her. _Unless of course, she's lying._

She knew it wasn't beneath the red vixen to lie, but there was something in her eyes. Some kind of vulnerable look, that completely stopped her for a moment. _I'll give her a chance._

"I guess I can understand." Sally replied peacefully. Fiona let out a sigh immediately, as if having just dropped some burdensome weight.

"Thanks, Sally… that means a lot to me." She responded. She looked up into the green leaves that hung above the Great Forest, shinning in the moonlight; she was feeling at absolute peace. She wondered for a moment what it must be like, to wake up every morning in this forest of hope and life, willing you on to fight.

Disturbed, however, was less than comforted. The colors of this place, all the people, all the _happiness_; it was all a lot for him to bear. He shrugged off his murderous urges and tapped Sally on the shoulder, receiving an immediate reaction. "Hey Sally, do you mind if I talk with you… alone?"

She cocked her head to the side at him, but shrugged and went along with his request. They walked off into the forest for some privacy –something hard to find in an open community –and stopped when they were far enough from the village.

"Alright, I have some questions to ask you." Disturbed declared, pointing at her firmly. "I want you to answer them as truthfully as you can."

Sally only bobbed her head, somewhat confused by this. "Who is Miles 'Tails' Prower?"

Sally froze up, not wanting to remember what had happened to the kit. But, seeing as she had agreed to his conditions, she would answer. "Tails was a young kit who lost his parents when Robotnik took over." She explained.

"He was just a baby when we found him, abandoned in the forest. Sonic and I were only six years old then, but we took care of him either way. He would often help us on missions with his ability to spin his two tails and take flight."

Disturbed raised an eyebrow. "Seraph has an extra tail as well."

"Yes, I couldn't help but notice. He looks so much like Tails." Sally reminisced about the strange being that resembled her surrogate son before she continued. "Tails matured quickly with his high I.Q. and it was recently on his tenth birthday that we made him an official Freedom Fighter."

Disturbed noticed that her eyes were beginning to tear up, but he disregarded it. "Tails died a couple weeks ago, in a skirmish fight against Robotnik."

Disturbed seemed genuinely interested by that comment. _A skirmish against Robotnik, huh? _"Well, how did he die?"

Sally gestured to her head. "Tails was shot in the head by a sniper and we never found his body."

Disturbed's expression seemed grim, but then again, he was almost always serious. He nodded to her and thanked her for her time before she left him to the forest.

_I knew it, _Disturbed thought. _I knew there was a connection…_

**[FLASHBACK]**

"_I'm sorry Director, but what do you want me to do?" Disturbed questioned him about his most recent directive._

"_You heard me, operative ten." He replied gruffly, preferring to use Disturbed's code number. "I want you to take a sniper and take out that child."_

_The Director practically shoved an image of the boy in his face. It was a young fox, no older than ten. But this fox had one easy-give-away._

_His tails._

_Disturbed was quite confused. The Director would always explain his directives, but he seemed unwilling to define this… this kid! "But, of what importance is that child, that you want me to kill him?"_

"_It is __**not **__your place to ask questions!" The Director retorted violently, "I gave you an order, and you are expected to follow it!"_

_Disturbed wasn't taking this argument well, and was about to yell at him before the Director put up a hand, signaling that he had overexerted his anger. The Director often did that when he was too angry, and would allow his staff some lenience for his anger._

"_Listen Disturbed, that child could make the difference whether we lose or win this war. Get rid of him at all costs!"_

_Disturbed nodded and took off through the door._

_/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/_

_Disturbed sat on top of the building, with his left eye squinted and his right eye staring at his victim. He drifted the crosshairs over the boy's head, held his breath and squeezed three muscles, letting the bullet fly loose._

**[END FLASHBACK]**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Sorry for the long wait everyone! I hope you enjoy! R&R**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Archie or Sega. Disturbed is copyright of Noble 6.**

**Claimer: I own this plot and all OCs.**

* * *

><p>Knothole Village<p>

July-5-4286

23:10 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"Faint" by: Linkin Park**__]_

Disturbed gripped his head as he came to conclusion. That boy he was ordered to kill was Seraph! And Seraph was that Tails kid!

But, if the Director had known that, then why did he so freely open up his arms to the twin tailed fox, claiming to be helping him? He shook his head as he made his way through the village, confused by the strange twist.

_I killed him though! I shot him in the head, and checked his pulse! How did he survive? _He pondered, screaming in his head for an answer. It was all just too much for him to handle. When he found no answer, he gave up and decided to head back to the hospital and check up on Seraph.

He signed in with the desk attendant, telling her that he was visiting a friend. He walked along the chrome hallways and opened a door, leading into Seraph's room.

_**Look at him… so injured, so weak, so very vulnerable…**_He shook his head out of those thoughts. Being a sadist had its advantages, such as a keen eye for weaknesses, but it also had these feelings to balance it. _**You could kill him right now, in his sleep. He wouldn't feel a thing…**_

_Shut up! He doesn't need to die._

_**So? There were so many other people that didn't need to die.**_

He clutched at his head and began to shack it, rattling his mind to be rid of the voice. _No! He needs to live so I can figure things out!_

_**And what are you planning to learn that you don't already know?**_

_I need to know what the Director's plan is!_

_**And you think this child will give you answers?**_

He sat in silence for a moment, not knowing how to answer. _Not really, but he will lead me to those answers eventually. _There was a moment of calm in his mind. The room was quiet and the voice had disappeared.

"You know, you speak your mind a lot."

Disturbed turned his head to the side to find Seraph wide awake, staring at him with decisive eyes. "It's hard to sleep with all of your ranting." He spoke with a hidden irritation.

Disturbed glared at Seraph. He didn't know anything about the reptilian, nothing about his life. Who was he to insult him? "I don't need your input, fox."

The bedridden vulpine rolled his eyes. "It's kind of unnerving to hear you debating whether or not you're going to kill me." He responded coolly.

Disturbed then realized that he must've been thinking out loud and he meekly backed down from the topic. With a couple good words and a few farewells, he simply walked out the door and continued on down to the lobby.

_I will figure out your plan, Director. Mark my words._

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

**~ (**_"An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language" _**–**_**Martin Buber**_**) ~**

_[Now Playing:__** "Eruption" by: Van Halen**__]_

…_**Syaoron the Fox presents…**_

…_**Using Material from Archie and Sega…**_

…_**As Well as Various Music and Themes…**_

_**RESURGENCE**_

_**Chapter 6**_

_**The Beast Within**_

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Ring Pool, Knothole Village

July-13-4286

6:24 Mobius Time

The Freedom Fighters sat at the edge of the small pond that was the ring pool. This pond was no ordinary pond, as it held the famed Power Ring generator, hand crafted by Sir Charles Hedgehog himself.

The small iridescent rings held immense power that could be used for a short amount of time, but no longer. However, the ring's energy could only be accessed by either machines that could extract the energy, or Sonic. Otherwise, they didn't respond at all.

It was at the famous ring pool that Sonic paced back and forth, awaiting his ring. He heard a tree branch snap nearby and he turned toward the noise, only to find that the perpetrator was Seraph and his pals. Surprisingly enough, Seraph had healed up in the one week's time that Fiona estimated, allowing him to be back on his feet and out of the 'building of zero privacy that they called a hospital'.

"Out and about again, I see?" Sonic mused, drawing there attention. "You should be getting some rest, Seraph."

The twin-tailed fox rolled his red and blue eyes. "You're telling me. Aren't you the one who's walking around a pond in the middle of the morning?"

Sonic smiled ad merely turned back to his pond. Many things had changed in the simple week that Seraph, Fiona, and Disturbed had been here. Sonic had actually made good friends with them, even Seraph –who still managed to get on his nerves often. Sally had shared many womanly secrets with Fiona that Sonic could only guess, and Disturbed was getting a laugh out of Antoine every day.

Speaking of the coyote, Antoine walked through a clearing in the bushes that surrounded the pool and sat on his proclaimed 'thinking log'.

Disturbed caught one glimpse of him and got on his knees, begging to Seraph. "Please!" He prayed, "Please let me scare him, just one more time?"

Seraph simply rolled his eyes, inwardly laughing at the sadist's childish antics. "Be back in five minutes."

Disturbed squealed with joy before running off. Seraph saw him sneaking up on the coyote who was blissfully unaware of his presence. It wasn't long before Disturbed was right behind him. "Seven days…" the reptilian whispered into his Antoine's ear, receiving a successful screech from him.

Antoine shot up from his sitting position and tumbled forward into the lake while Disturbed keeled over in laughter. Antoine soon surfaced and spit water out of his mouth, giving a stern sneer to Disturbed while the reptile continued bellyaching.

"Five minutes are up, Disturbed!" Seraph shouted, calling him over. After Disturbed got regained control over himself, he came rejoined them.

Sally had come out in the time that Disturbed was frightening Antoine and was currently sitting by the lake with Sonic. Sally's watch beeped, turning 6:30 and signifying the next power ring. Light came over the pool in a brilliant golden radiance as a vortex of light formed above the pool. The energy then condensed and compacted itself into the familiar ring shape while Sonic caught it.

"That's quite the interesting trinket you got there." Seraph observed. Fiona nudged him and lent toward his ear.

"That's a power ring." She whispered to him. "It's a huge source of power that only Sonic can use.

Seraph crossed his arms and gave Sonic a skeptical look. "I suppose these bracelets come up every day or so?

He received a nod from Sally as she checked out the surroundings. "Yup, we get a new one every day."

"What a folly. I thought you were bringing me along for this ring show."

Everyone jumped at the voice as a figure came out from the bushes nearby. Upon seeing the skunk however, Sally breathed a sigh of relief. "Seraph, Fiona, Disturbed, this is Geoffrey St. John. He's been a Freedom Fighter for a while and is one of our top strategists."

They gave one another a curt nod when Fiona asked, "So, why is he here?"

"St. John is going to be coming with us on our mission today." Sally explained. "It'll be you three, Sonic, John, and me."

"I was unaware that we were expected." Disturbed said with a hint of uneasiness in his voice. Whatever they were needed for, he figured it would probably be difficult. Why else would newcomers be requested of for a six man mission?

"Well, we're going to be running an operation that could completely nullify Robotnik's forces." Sally said with a smirk, satisfied by the general reaction.

Even Sonic looked at her with mild surprise. "Sal, are you serious?"

"Yes, I am." She confirmed with a nod. "Yesterday, I was wondering, 'how does Robotnik communicate with all of his forces?' The answer I came up with was simple! Robotnik uses a complex system of radio waves, transmitted from satellites above the atmosphere and stations across Mobius. All we really need to do is cut off his connection with the satellites and we wipe out half of his forces!"

Fiona scrunched her brows together in contemplation. "What you're describing seems almost too easy." She addressed her, showing her concern. "What's the catch?"

Sally began to sweat as she became nervous, thinking about the actual nature of this mission. "Well, the building I traced the signals to is heavily guarded. It has a diamond glass roof; making aerial assault suicidal and the there are several security encoded locks that would take a long time to crack using just Nicole."

Seraph smiled at the thought of such a dangerous mission. "Well guys, the stakes are high, the odds are against us, and we're heavily outnumbered." He stated whilst cracking the joints in his knuckles and neck. "Let's get down to business."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Robotropolis

July-13-4286

19:17 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"Deadline" on: Modern Warfare 2 Original Soundtrack**__]_

The instant he stepped into that city, Geoffrey St. John knew there was going to be trouble. He had done this on many other occasions, but he had a pit feeling in his stomach that screamed that this mission was going to hit the fan.

They had infiltrated the city lines with ease –as they had done many times before –and escaped into one of the many junkyards scattered across the city of machines, where they sat out the hours, awaiting the proper time to strike.

Why they had to wait till it was near sundown, he had no clue. Sally had explained earlier that the guarding was less dense at this hour, but it appeared no less dense now than it had at noon when they arrived there.

But, there was no more time to waste. The operation had to be performed now, or that window of opportunity would shut itself close. "Let's move in." Sally ordered, moving forward in a crouching fashion.

As they crept toward the door, they contemplated whether they should wait or not, but it was far too late to decide that. The time was now.

Sally planted a frame charge on the door and pressed her back against the adjacent wall while her comrades did the same.

"Are you ready Sal?" Sonic questioned, leaving Sally to only nod. He then turned toward Seraph and received a firm nod from him and his squad mates.

"Let's do this." Seraph whispered excitedly as he took out the detonator and clicked the fuse. The concentrated explosives erupted violently and spewed hot iron outward, creating just large enough for them to get through.

Quickly, Seraph rounded the corner and pulled out his M1911s, both equipped with a silencer. He spotted multiple bots, disoriented by the blast, and he took their heads off with supreme accuracy.

Fiona rounded the corner with her Colt Python with silencer in hand, but she saw no hostiles. She thusly proceeded to slap Seraph and demanded him to give a reason for not leaving her any targets.

"Let's face it, Fiona." Seraph explained. "You're gun would give us away."

"But it was silenced!"

"Fiona, you can't silence a revolver." Seraph revealed to her. "The gases that escape from the revolving chamber make most of the noise, and a suppressor can't silence that. Didn't I tell you that?"

She answered that question by lightly hitting him on the head with the butt of her revolver. "I guess I didn't." Seraph meekly answered.

When they turned their focus back to the objective at hand, they began investigating the room even further. Sally brought out Nicole, but she wasn't detecting any radio transmitters in the room. She was slightly discouraged until she heard her boot squeak against something.

She looked down and noticed that they were walking on a fiber glass floor, below a fiber glass ceiling. If her assumption was correct, you wouldn't be able to escape aerial surveillance anywhere in this building.

"It's on a lower floor." Sally announced, "Let's move on."

However, moving on proved more difficult than she imagined. It only took them a minute of searching to realize the descending path was hidden behind a wall. Geoffrey solved their problem a minute later, by tripping over Sally's feet and into a camouflaged button, sliding the nearby wall open and revealing a spiraling staircase.

"Great job, John!" Sally commended him. "You discovered the entrance!"

The referred-to skunk however, was rubbing the bruise that now resided on his head. "At more of a personal cost, Sally," he muttered while tending to his bump.

That dark of night was starting to come upon them, and they knew that Robotnik's limited lighting would hamper their vision. Plus, knowing his protectiveness of this of this place, no one knew what would be around the next corner.

Seraph peered around the wall for half of a second before snapping his head back behind the cover. "Elite SWAT bots," he stated, referring to the red armored humanoid bots with black visors. "Practically an army of them."

"What about the radio transmitter?" Sally interrogated.

With the shake of his head, Seraph attempted to look around the corner again, very briefly. "I see a machine that could be transmitting the waves, but I can't be sure."

Sally flipped open Nicole and began scanning for radio radiation. When she received a small ping she turned back to Seraph and said, "Nicole's picking up the waves, but this still seems too easy."

"Well, if you keep speaking like that, Murphy's going to rain hell on our parade." Fiona uttered, initiating Murphy's Law.

First Sonic, then Sally and the others snuck out into the room, hiding behind different machines and what not.

Sally and Seraph crept over to the machine and found a terminal on the side opposite the battalion of SWAT bots. "Are you sure you can hack this?" Sally questioned him.

Seraph looked at the machine and shrugged. "It's not a question of if I can; it's a question of how long it takes. I could _hack _this baby, no problem, but it'd take longer and there'd be more room for error." He then pulled out a small disk and smirked. "However, if Robotnik never installed an anti-malware or virus protection of some kind, I could simply upload this virus."

Option 2 was selected and Seraph inserted the small disk into the port. However, when the screen blinked on, it showed the message: **WARNING! VIRUS DETECTED! ALERTING ALL AVAILABLE PERSONNEL!**

"That can't be good…" Sally muttered as the elite SWAT bots flushed throughout the room, effectively apprehending them.

"Intruders," one of the SWAT bots said in a monotone voice. "You will be sent to Dr. Robotnik for immediate robotization."

Seraph struggled against the bots grasp, but he couldn't seem to get away as he constantly writhed. In an act of desperation, he looked toward the glass ceiling to see the full moon shining brightly.

And then, his heart skipped a beat.

_[Now Playing: __**"The Animal" by: Disturbed**__]_

"Seraph, are you okay?" Fiona asked as she saw Seraph's eyes glass over. He appeared completely unresponsive as he continued to stare at the moon.

She then saw red slowly take over his blue iris and she figured out the issue. It was animalistic induction.

Seraph's muscle mass expanded slightly, allowing him to escape from the robot's grasp as he landed on all fours. His gloves burst open as his fingers grew sharp claws and his feet extended to become more feral, ripping out of his shoes. His canines extended noticeably, becoming about four inches long.

As he stared at the assailant robots, Seraph growled deeply and lunged at his captor with a clawed hand. He took a mere swipe at the elite SWAT bot and its innards were shredded. Letting out a long howl, Seraph continued hacking away at the robots with extreme speed and ferocity.

After they had overcome the shock, the swat bots turned and stormed toward Seraph with malice in mind. Seraph simply looked at the first one and chuckled. It would soon be over.

He grabbed the nearest bots arm and twisted it in an oblique direction before tearing it completely off. He then took the defective bot and hurled it back at the others. Dashing forward on all fours, He lunged at another bot and tore its head off with his teeth, leaving the decapitated body to fall over.

One SWAT bot finally figured to fire his laser at the fox. He aimed, shot, and left a burn mark on Seraph's fur that he swore revenge for. He rushed toward the bot that had fired on him and he pinned the arm behind its back. "Tell me SWAT bot, does you're AI allow you to feel pain?"

He got a fleeting glance from the bot before he began twisting the arm. Even through its monotone voice, Sally could hear the moans and shrieks of pain emitted from the bot. Seraph then planted his foot on its back and punched a hole straight through it.

Seraph stood back up and looked at the remainder of bots that were pointing their lasers at him. He frowned and started ran towards them again. He flew in with a kick, lading on the front bot while the others were disoriented. He flicked his tails out and caught two others in his grasp, with which he began beating the other bots with.

As he did so, he let out a maniacal laugh full of ecstasy and joy. After he had effectively beat most of the bots into the ground, he held the other two bots in front of him. As he gave them looks of deviousness, he shot out his hands and punched holes in their chests, tearing out their main processors.

With the bots in a heap, Sally walked towards him, amazed by his insane actions. She was however, unprepared when he quickly turned around and pinned her to the wall by her neck. Growling with delight, Seraph slowly started crushing her wing pipe while she tried gasping for air.

"Seraph, what are you doing?" Fiona shouted. She had seen many operatives do crazy things when under animalistic induction, but she had never seen one turn on his or her teammates! She had no experience, since she had control over her metamorphosis, but Seraph was completely out of control!

Sonic rushed to punch Seraph in the back of the head, but he released Sally at the last second and spun around to backhand Sonic in the face, sending him into the nearest wall. He starred at Geoffrey with a death glare and the skunk immediately dove behind the nearest machine in his fear.

"What's gotten into you?" Disturbed scolded him, but his words seemed to not phase Seraph as he continued his raging. The twin-tailed fox launched himself at Fiona, raking his claw across her leg and tearing a bloody gash in it before she could react.

When she did notice it, she took a quick lunge back and cringed in pain. She quickly reached for her revolver and pointed it at Seraph, muttering a quiet "sorry" before firing off six rounds into his chest. Seraph howled in pain, but stayed conscious, now filled with a greater anger.

He ignored her for a short while, returning his attention to the hedgehog who was recovering from being blown through a wall. He pounced Sonic and pinned him on the floor before barring his fangs and biting into Sonic's left shoulder.

As the hedgehog screeched in pain, Disturbed tore him off of the hedgehog before any more damage could be done. Seraph elbowed Disturbed in the gut, causing him to release him while the fox kick him away. He looked demented now, with red eyes and Sonic's crimson blood dripping from his lips and his own flooding from the bullet wounds.

Fiona dashed at him, aiming to punch him in the face, to which Seraph put his guard up. He realized too late that it was merely a feint as she kneed him in the stomach and he keeled from the attack. She then initiated a punching combo and kicked him back into the wall.

He clutched at his bloody chest in pain as he side stepped her attempted to punch him in the gut once more. He replied with a devastating round kick to her side, sending her reeling into the wall where she now lay unconscious.

Before he could injure the others, Disturbed appeared in front of him and locked their eyes. "Sorry about this Seraph, but you're beyond control." He said before Seraph's world went black.

_[Stop Music]_

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

When Disturbed reopened his eyes to the scenery he was shocked to find his surroundings surprisingly bright. The room he was in now was chrome white, covering everything but him and his black shadow. He tried to focus on his surroundings and make them bend to his will, but he failed in doing so.

_What's going on? _He pondered in his mild confusion. _I always have control of my illusions!_

He noticed that there were others in the room than himself and he tiptoed toward them, just in case they were hostile. Up close, he noticed that two of figures were Seraph, one way or another.

The third figure was trapped in a cage, however. He appeared weak as his blue eyes filled with tears and his body quaked in fear. The caged fox's two tails were drooping and Disturbed wondered for a moment who he was… it didn't take him long to conclude.

_Of course! That kid in the cage is Seraph __**before **__he I shot him! _He concurred with exasperation. _I think his name was Tails or something… _He decided that, for a time, he would lay back and watch the events unfold.

The other two Seraphs before him appeared to be holding a grudge towards one another. The one on the right was Seraph in his metamorphosis stage of animalistic induction while the other was Seraph as he was, with no alterations. They both bore injuries similar to the ones he had received on the outside world however.

All of a sudden, the two Seraphs attacked each other with such blinding speed that he could only see two orange blurs flying at one another in combat. When they once again stopped, he noticed that they had neither tired, nor lost any of their vigor.

"Stop fighting!" Tails shouted from the cage. "Please, just stop this!"

The animalistic Seraph glanced at him lustfully, with eyes full of hunger. "Quiet runt or I may just lose control and kill you." He threatened as he began striding over to the cage. "You wouldn't last a minute if I had my way with you."

The normal Seraph then ran in his path, blocking him from the cage. "A big if, since I won't let you near him." He denied him calmly while the animalistic Seraph merely glared at him.

The animalistic Seraph then let out laughter, as if he had realized something. When he had recovered from his outburst, he said, "You don't even know who you are Seraph. Even this kid knows some things you don't."

"What difference does it make?" He replied. "Maybe you two know things I don't. I'll just have to find out on my own."

The animalistic Seraph shook his head and glared at him. "You're so naïve that you don't even realize what all of this is!" He accused extending his arms out to emphasize. "You don't realize that everyone around is _using _you. The Director is using you, Sonic's using you, they all use you; they all use **us**!"

The animalistic Seraph then seemed to bring attention to Disturbed as he nodded toward the black reptile. "He and Fiona may as well be your only _real _friends."

Then, giving a quick scolding glare to Seraph, he said, "You'd better wake up from this fake reality you've stuck yourself in Seraph, before it sends you down a path of no return.

Disturbed then noticed that the white world was fading away and returning to black. As he floated away into dark weightlessness, he wondered, _what is going on?_


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Hello once again, faithful viewers! I have an extra-special plot twist chapter, just for you!**

**Disclaimer: I do not claim or own anything from Sega or Archie. I don't claim or own Disturbed or Shifter, as they are owned by the author: Nobel Six.**

**Claimer: I own this plot and all OCs that were not previously mentioned.**

* * *

><p>Robotropolis<p>

July-14-4286

0:17 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"Neon Night" on: Halo 3 ODST Original Soundtrack**__]_

He didn't quite know exactly when he woke up. All he knew was that it was dawn and that he was bleeding heavily from many wounds.

What had happened the night before? They had infiltrated the building, unsuccessfully hacked the system, and been captured. After that, he drew a blank. He noticed that Disturbed was gone, as were Sonic, Sally, and Geoffrey. He could only assume that they had to escape from any other bots and were forced to leave them behind.

He looked over to Fiona and noticed that she was still bleeding from the gash in her leg, so he decided to check to see if she was still breathing. When he lent close to her mouth and felt air blowing against him, he sighed in relief.

"C'mon Fiona," he spoke, a hint of fear hiding in his voice. He gripped her hand, as if trying to comfort her. "You can make it through this."

He then diverted his gaze back to the terminal that controlled the radio waves and he knew he would have to finish the job. He crawled towards the machine and began hauling himself up to the terminal for support. He wearily typed away at the terminal, infiltrating specific files and hacking his way into the mainframe until he had initiated a total systemic collapse.

As the machine began blaring with its stereotypical siren, signifying its imminent destruction, he hefted up Fiona's body and began striding up the stairs and out toward the exit.

As he snuck further from the city, he heard the distinct sound of an explosion and knew his job had been done.

The only problem was finding shelter. Having only awakened in Knothole a week prior, he didn't remember the way back, so they would need to find shelter.

He figured that the Great Forest would be swarming with SWAT bots, constantly trying to find Knothole, but to no avail. He took this notion as a warning and decided he would avoid the forest entirely. He walked limply around the boundary of the forest, heaving Fiona's body with him and making sure the wounds didn't get infected.

He didn't care where he went. His only thought there and then was to get him and Fiona to a temporary safe haven so they could recover. But, he noticed that he could be failing to do even that.

As he shuffled around the boundary of the forest, his vision began to blur and multiply, causing him to see double. The images were all jumbled in his mind, blurring from place to place as he stumbled about.

The edges of his vision were beginning to darken as he continued to walk. Breathing became harder as he walked onward. He figured he'd only been walking for an hour or so, but it felt like the hours were dragging like leaves on a windy day.

With the sun behind him, he spotted a large river, which he assumed ran endlessly from north to south. He quivered as he knelt down to the river before he completely buckled and fell to the grassy ground. He clutched his chest in pain as Fiona rolled out beside him.

As the darkness began creeping toward the center of his vision he laid his eyes on Fiona and smiled. Then, he let the darkness take him.

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

**~ (**_"It is discouraging how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit." –__**Noel Coward**_**) ~**

_[Now Playing: __**"Eruption" by: Van Halen**__]_

…_**Syaoron the Fox presents…**_

…_**Using Material from Archie and Sega…**_

…_**As Well as Various Music and Themes…**_

_**RESURGENCE**_

_**Chapter 7**_

_**Both Sides of Betrayal**_

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Great Forest, en route to Knothole

July-14-4286

6:09 Mobius Time

As they made their way back through the forest –Geoffrey carrying Disturbed and Sally upholding Sonic –they realized that maybe they had done the wrong thing, leaving Seraph and Fiona like that…

**[FLASHBACK]**

In the quiet of night, under the diamond glass roof of the radio transmission building, Sally stared at those around her.

Sonic was bleeding badly from the fang marks in his shoulder; unconscious from blood loss. Fiona had a crimson gash in her leg and possibly a broken rib. Disturbed, while having not obtained any real injuries, was unconscious from mental strain and exhaustion.

Finally, there was Seraph's body, in the middle of the blood bath. His body was covered in Sonic's blood as well as his own as the red liquid pooled from the bullet holes in his stomach.

Geoffrey was fine; simply scarred out of his mind. And who wouldn't be, having to witness such a massacre?

She could no longer trust him. If this happened once a month for life, she couldn't afford to keep him on the team. "I knew we couldn't trust him."

She snapped her head to the familiar voice and found it coming from Sonic, who was propped up against a nearby wall. "Sonic! Don't move, your injuries are too serious!" She ordered him while she rushed over to him.

The hedgehog never failed to keep the cocky smile on his face as he faintly viewed his surroundings. "We can't trust him Sally. I say we abandon him, right here."

She wanted to object, but she knew her argument would be invalid. The evidence was to clear. He had turned on his teammates during their first mission together, and keeping him around would endanger not only them, but the lives of all in Knothole.

She meekly nodded and was remembered what had happened to Tails. She had to hold Sonic back to keep him from going after the fallen kit, convincing him that the fox had already died. Now, she viewed this fox as their only connection to Tails, and this was considered severing it.

"Should we bring the others?" Sally asked him, to which he only shrugged.

"I trust that Disturbed guy." He said while allowing his attention to drift over to the red vixen. "Fiona has already betrayed us though. I'm a little nervous about her."

Geoffrey, convinced that Seraph was sound asleep, finally crawled out from behind the machine he used for cover. "Then, what do we tell Disturbed when he wakes up without his teammates?" He asked, his eyes still glassed over with fear.

"We simply tell him that they died in the escape." Sally suggested, to which they agreed. She then had Geoffrey pick up Disturbed's body while she supported Sonic with her arm.

Without even a word of departure, they left the room, leaving Fiona and Seraph to the hands of fate.

**[END FLASHBACK]**

Sally slowed her walking for a moment until she finally came to a standstill. Of course it wasn't the right thing to do! They left people who were completely innocent in their causes behind enemy lines, to most likely die!

"You're still thinking about them." Sonic spoke, interrupting her thoughts. "Aren't you, Sal?"

She was about to object to the statement before she reprocessed it and sighed heavily. Sonic could read her like a book, and she knew it. "I still don't think it was right."

Sonic motioned for them to sit down and they all crowded around in a circle, minus Disturbed who was still unconscious. "Sal, you're going to have to accept that some of things we do just _aren't _morally right." Sonic told her, to which she seemed utterly against.

Geoffrey was about to agree with him, when he looked upon the hedgehog and saw _her_ again. As with many times before, the image of a beautiful lavender fox appeared in the hedgehog's place, injuries and all. Once again, the mirage spoke, "Metatron." He let out a small tear and shallowly muttered, "Auriel."

Sally only barely heard that name and it was enough to convince her. "Alright _John_, the gig is up." She said with as much malice as possible. She then stood up and grabbed St. John by the scruff of his vest and pinned him on the ground.

"Princess, what in the blazes are you doing?" He exclaimed, surprised by her actions. This loud screech of shock woke Disturbed from his slumber, and he swished his head till he found Sally pinning John down.

"What's with all the noise?" Disturbed groggily spoke as he watched John struggle against Sally's dominant strength. He giggled inwardly at the sight of the skunk's face, but something felt… off.

He didn't _feel _scared. Disturbed could feel it. Whatever John was feeling, it was most definitely not fear. No, he felt… despair and a sense of duty coming from the skunk.

"Who are you, really?" Sally demanded, shoving the skunk further into the ground. "What did you do with John?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" John shouted in retort while Disturbed continued staring at him.

_It could be him… _He thought. The black reptile then decided to walk over to John and gave him a good look in the face.

To the untrained eye, there was nothing wrong with him. Then again, Disturbed's eye wasn't exactly untrained and he easily noticed the wing-like patterns that formed from the shading of his blue eyes. "Of all the nerve _Master_, I'm surprised you're here."

John flinched up when he had heard him speak to him and he inwardly cursed. _My cover's been blown, _he thought before he ripped himself free of Sally's grasp. He then backed up and his body began contorting, twisting in awkward directions as if forming a pool of flesh.

When the contorting stopped, it reformed into a black monster, reminiscent of a small six winged dragon. The features of the Mobian sized dragon were unidentifiable due to its darkness. "I don't want to hurt you Disturbed." The being attempted to reason with him. Disturbed merely sent back a menacing glare.

"You've done it already." He replied, spreading his arms out. "And _this _is what happened to me! I've had to deal with myself for practically my entire life! I'm sick of hearing that nagging voice in the back of my head!"

The black shadow dragon scrunched his right red eye, as if in contemplation. "So, you developed schizophrenia as well? That is most interesting."

"Stop mocking me!" The black reptilian bellowed to his former teacher. "You've already taken everything! What more do you want?"

It was then the black dragon extended limbs that they could only assume were arms and said, "I want to sincerely apologize for everything that happened."

He stepped forward, hoping to have his pupil come once again into his arms, only for Disturbed to slash at him with his bony claws. "No Shifter, I won't come crawling back so that you can _teach_ with me again."

Shifter backed away and closed his red eyes solemnly. "I'm sorry it has to be that way Disturbed."

Before he could react to it, Disturbed rushed forward and punch Shifter in the gut, only to have it phase right through him. Shifter gave him a stern look and backed away. "Well, if you won't let me leave, then I'll have to go on my own accord!" Shifter then backed away and began to sink into the ground, becoming the grey of a tree's shadow.

Disturbed swished his head about, in attempts to find his former master. However, this transformation was a new addition since the last time he'd seen him, so he'd have to keep on his toes.

He was unsuspecting of what came next, when he felt something clutch at his ankle before everything went dark.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

He woke up inside of a world swimming in white and grey blobs. Looking around, he got to his knees and pushed himself up with some difficulty. As he looked toward the sky of the white world, he saw an ever extending nothingness, aside from several shadows above, depicting the forest they had most recently been in.

"Where am I, Shifter?" He asked, a threatening tone seeping into his voice. All he received was a small chuckle.

He looked behind him and saw Shifter in an entirely different form. This one was of a glistening white wolf. Its eyes had a blue sclera and the iris was white, rather than the natural white sclera and blue iris, and a feint grey pattern of wings was clearly visible in the iris. "This is the Shadow Realm, Disturbed." He explained. "Here, we can have your fight without any interruptions."

Disturbed smirked and drew his purple dagger from its sheath. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

_[Now Playing: __**"Right Now" by: Korn**__]_

Disturbed rushed forward, eager to cause Shifter the same pain he had been caused; the same despair.

Of course, Shifter was all too familiar with his former pupil's tendencies and worked that against him. When Disturbed lunged for a swipe with the dagger, he grabbed the swinging arm and countered with a fist to Disturbed's gut. He then caught him with a punch combo to the chest before finishing with a round kick to the side, sending Disturbed flying.

The reptile managed flip around to catch his footing before he landed badly, preventing further damage.

He quickly turned his attention back to Shifter, who had pulled out a small metal bar that was rectangular in shape. He then flicked it out, causing it to unfold and reveal the long sword it truly was.

Disturbed only glared and rushed at him again, this time timing the swing of his dagger to match that of Shifter's so that they clashed shortly. Shifter smirked and reared back for another swing, but was caught off guard when Disturbed rushed in and slashed at him several times with the dagger before spinning and kicking him in the face.

When Shifter had recovered, his body bleeding heavily, he merely laughed it off as the wounds simply healed themselves up. "Surely you've trained long enough to know that doesn't work?"

"SHUT UP!" Disturbed shouted while coming in for another slash before Shifter grabbed the hand controlling the knife. He twisted Disturbed's wrist to the ground before drop kicking his chest, causing Disturbed to roll back.

The reptile, bleeding through his mouth, was fueled with more rage and didn't let Shifter rest as he came up for another strike.

He jumped in the air and tried round kicking him, but Shifter simply ducked bellow the attack. Disturbed then flipped and axe kicked him, but the wolf put up his arms to block him from completing the kick. Disturbed smirked as he quickly torqued his body so that he could bring a devastating fist to his gut.

Shifter back up, but still keeled from the attack's intensity. "You still don't understand why I did all those things, do you Disturbed?"

"I don't need to understand to know that I hate you!" the reptilian countered. "You ruined my life, and now I'm going to end yours!"

Disturbed dashed for another attack, but was repelled by some kind of force. He noticed that it was because Shifter was transforming again; into what, he didn't know.

Once the metamorphosis was complete, he was revealed to be the same wolf, only the fur was colored a light blue and icy mist seemed to seep from every pore of his body.

Shifter then launched a ball of white from his hand at Disturbed, the contents of which he could only guess. Before it came into contact with him, he rolled to the side and watched the ball hit where he had recently been, exploding into a mass of ice.

He was soon on the run, as Shifter began lobbing these ice bombs at him constantly. He noticed, however, that Shifter was beginning to tire from the constant attacking, so he began running towards him, enacting a quick combo of punches and kicks before climaxing with flying sidekick toward his chest.

When Shifter picked himself back up, he no longer relied on the long distance techniques and ran toward him, his fists tensed for action. Disturbed could feel the cold emanating from him while he blocked some of Shifter's attacks.

He realized too late that Shifter was infusing ice into his attacks and he found his right arm frozen in a case of ice. "Give it up Disturbed. I only wanted to talk." Shifter attempted to reason with him, but Disturbed snarled at him instead.

"Never!" he screamed in response. "I died the day you touched me; you tried teaching me to transform and _this _is what happened!"

Shifter sighed and shook his head. "Fine, I'll just have to force you to listen to me."

Shifter raised his hands above his head and a ball of white mist began to form above his head. Disturbed widened his eyes in shock and began running at him, in an attempt to stop the oncoming attack.

It was all futile. Disturbed was within striking distance when Shifter launched the ball of mist at him, encasing his body in a thick layer of cold ice. "You've lost this one, Disturbed." Shifter said, declaring the battle over.

_[Stop Music]_

Disturbed struggled against his icy bounds, giving off vibes of hatred directed towards Shifter, who had reverted to his wolf form once more. They remained in silence for a while, trying to figure one another out and say something that would catch the other off guard.

Shifter walked over a small distance away from Disturbed and looked toward the ground, stooping down to pick up his purple diamond dagger. As soon as Disturbed saw him wrap his fingers around the knife, he immediately protested, "Give that back, Shifter!"

Shifter merely turned the weapon around in his hands, looking at his reflection in the glassy knife. "It's funny, Disturbed." He muttered softly, causing Disturbed to perk up his ears. "I'm the person you hate most, and yet you cling to the one beneficial thing I managed to give you."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Disturbed questioned him.

Shifter merely looked over the weapon and closed his eyes, letting the memories wash over him again. There was a time when Disturbed was a full bodied reptilian, without of the bony forearms. He was under the training of Shifter for quite a long time.

"This dagger means everything to me…" Shifter muttered, his voice cracking slightly. He remembered the day he received it; crafted of the finest material in its most elegant design. Auriel had given it to him for his eighteenth birthday, during the days when they were younger.

"So, why did you give it to me?" Disturbed continued to interrogate him, but Shifter was completely open for conversation.

As he continued to marvel at the dagger, he answered his question, "Because it was meant to be…" He had received the dagger from Auriel because she hoped it would bring him good fortune and a long life. He had thusly passed it onto Disturbed for the same reason.

Disturbed continued to stare at the shape-shifter, reading his emotions conceitedly and feeling the intense depression; the loneliness; the heartache. "Why did you come back for me?"

There was another silence, neither saying anything. "You're all that I have left, Disturbed." Shifter finally answered, a tear falling from his eyes. "You're the only person left that I can depend on."

They both shared a solemn moment while Disturbed mulled the information over. "What happened to her?"

"We were on a mission." He began to explain. "It was simple; we were supposed to assassinate Hunter, and get away alive."

Shifter began to tear up as the memory of her battered, mangled body returned to his mind. "She was discovered and Hunter tortured her right in front of me!"

"You at least got back at him, right?"

Shifter's eyes filled with hate for a moment. "Of course; I used one of my other forms to seal him in a different dimension, since he was just too powerful. I was unconscious for a week." Once again they both became quite to offer Auriel their thoughts.

"Can you please forgive me Disturbed?" Shifter pleaded him again, this time getting down on his knees and clasping his hands together, praying.

Disturbed chuckled lightly at him. He was about to bend to the request of the one he hated most. It was ironic, how he wasn't in a position to simply lift a finger, yet the mightier of them was praying for his forgiveness. "Tell you what, Metatron." He said, deciding to finally use his real name. "I'll forgive you if you can get me out of this icicle."

Shifter looked up, his eyes watering while he was on the verge of hugging the huge ice cube that held Disturbed. "Absolutely, Disturbed." He said while morphing his body to become that of a similar wolf with a slightly more red fur coloration.

He held out his hand and conjured a ball of flame, hurling it at Disturbed's frozen body and immediately freeing him from the icy prison.

He then transformed into the shadow dragon and lifted him and Disturbed from the Shadow Realm and into the real world.

As their bodies penetrated the wall between the two dimensions, Disturbed felt light enswathe him and his body felt comfortably warm. They soon appeared on Mobius, and Shifter set Disturbed down. "I suggest you go find your friends." Shifter told him. "They should still be near the forest."

Disturbed nodded as he took off, but he suddenly stopped, noticing that Shifter hadn't moved at all. "What's wrong Metatron? Aren't you coming?" He genuinely sounded disappointed, seeing as he had finally gotten over his feelings of hatred. The hate was still there, but he felt that he could trust him, for some obscene reason.

"No Disturbed," he answered, "I'll simply become my name sake* and watch over you." As Shifter began sinking back into the shadows, he left one departing message, "Ego sum aeternum in praesidio.**"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Great River

July-14-4286

14:38 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"If" by: Acoustic Eidolon**__]_

She awoke to the sound of chirping birds and leaves in the wind, that afternoon. She felt incredibly weak, as well as a sense of dizziness as she attempted to stand. Finding she couldn't, she crawled toward the nearby river and took a good look at herself.

She had a gash in her leg, but that was really it. The rest was brunt damage and she was in fairly good condition.

She widened her eyes as she took another look at her surroundings. _Come to think of it, why am I here? _She thought as she began to look around the area.

She soon found that she could stand and she took a look at the open field. She knew that Seraph had gone animal, and she had passed out, but there was a blank in that space between.

She then looked nearby the river again and found Seraph, lying in a small puddle of his own blood. Her sense of emergency rising, she rushed over to his side and rolled him over on his back to see the extent of the damage.

There wasn't much to see that she didn't already know about. His bullet wounds had begun to finally start healing and the blood vessels were beginning to weave back together, but he was still in serious condition.

As she began clearing an area to lie him down on, she wondered why he would go to these ends to help her. She figured it must've been difficult to lug her body all the way here from Robotropolis, with his wounds and all.

"Why would you do it, Seraph?" She asked aloud, hoping to get a response. When all she heard was his lull breathing, she assumed he was still unconscious and continued to clear an area for him with grass and leaves so as not to infect the wounds.

"Why would you do these things for me?" Once again, no answer, but she managed to form an idea of her own. He may have been a different person now, with a whole new personality and different memories.

Still, maybe there was some of the old Tails hanging around in him. Maybe, just maybe, he still loved her.

At the thought of it, she would've normally blushed, but looking down at Seraph, she realized that it would've been true, whether he'd been Tails or not. _Ever since he woke up as a new person, I've always been there for him. _She figured, and she smiled softly.

As she reminisced about the most previous days, she realized that maybe, she loved him back. Through all these emotions she'd been experiencing lately, she wasn't quite sure what it was she felt for him, but she decided to just go with it for the time.

After laying his body in the cleared area, she lay down next to him and cuddled with him, experiencing the soothing warmth that his body gave off. _Maybe this isn't so bad…_

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

*Metatron is an angel in angelology, depicted as the "angel of the guard" or "keeper of the watch".

**The phrase is Latin, meaning: **I am forever in your guard.**

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><p><strong>AN: I was finally able to get in that long awaited Tails x Fiona fluff! I was waiting for a time to put it in, and here it is. Normally, I'm no good with fluff, so I want your input on this. R&amp;R<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: This one won't have much action, but I stil like the way it came out.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own or claim anything from Sega, Archie, or Yu-Gi-Oh**

**Claimer: I own this plot**

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><p>Knothole Village<p>

July-14-4286

14:45 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"Take it Easy" by: The Eagles**__]_

It was an afternoon in Knothole, where Sally could find no peace of mind. Since eight hours prior, she had been pondering the recent events.

She knew for one that Shifter and Disturbed were related, somehow. She also knew that the real Geoffrey St. John was nowhere to be found. Then, soon after Shifter had revealed himself, he took Disturbed to some alternate reality, and she hadn't seen them since.

She paced her small hut, tugging on sections of her fur in frustration. There was simply too much happening in too little of a time that she didn't understand. First they had to leave Seraph and Fiona behind, and now Disturbed and Shifter were gone as well.

Searching for the real John would be her number one priority, but she'd still have to keep tabs on Robotropolis, making sure that their plan had worked. Then they'd have to worry about if Disturbed, Fiona, Seraph, or Shifter –especially Shifter –would reveal the location of Knothole!

She was hyperventilating when she felt two hands on her shoulders, slowly beginning to massage her stressed limbs. "What eez ze matter, princess?" She heard a light male voice, with his classic French accent. She turned her head to find Antoine D'Coolette the Coyote kneading her shoulders.

She sighed and shook her head. "There's just too much going on, Antoine." She replied. "We made allies, abandoned two, and then lost Disturbed and Shifter."

Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a flicker of a smile when Disturbed's name was mentioned. "And, who eez zis 'Shifter' any who?"

Sally reminisced over that. Who was he, really? He was impersonating John, but he didn't appear hostile… "He was impersonating John on our mission." She answered him, leaving him to drop his jaw.

"But then, where eez ze real John, then?"

Sally widened her eyes as she plotted an idea. "Actually…" She slurred out, adding a suspicious tone to it. "I need you to search the village for him while I ready up for the next mission. Could you do that for me?"

Just for added effect, she batted her eyes, causing Antoine's cheeks to turn the color of a ripe tomato. He waited for a moment before putting together a sloppy salute and rushing out the door.

Sally waited till the door to her hut slammed shut to burst into tears of laughter. She rolled around on the floor, not having had a laugh like that in such a long time. After her spasm of giggling, she pulled herself onto the bed, lying down spread eagled.

She now had the rest of the evening to herself, and she was going to spend it properly, with the best form of therapy: sleep.

She shut her eyelids and entangled herself in the sheets. She told herself that she would procrastinate; find them and solve this problem another time.

She couldn't even keep her dreams off of them.

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

**~ (**_"You got to be careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there." __**–Yogi Berra"**_**) ~**

_[Now Playing: __**"Eruption" by: Van Halen**__]_

…_**Syaoron the Fox presents…**_

…_**Using Material from Archie and Sega…**_

…_**As Well as Various Music and Themes…**_

_**RESURGENCE**_

_**Chapter 8**_

_**The Traveling Trio**_

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

The Great River

July-15-4286

8:16 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"Us and Them" by: Pink Floyd**__]_

He fluttered his eyes open groggily, looking around at his surroundings and remembering the events of the previous day; how he had to drag Fiona and him out of Robotropolis; away from Knothole. He remembered how he had barely managed to get them near a river.

He did not remember having so much added weight on him.

He looked to his left and saw Fiona, curled up and clutching onto him. It was slightly painful to him, with the injuries and all, but they were beginning to heal up. He smiled at her and nudged her head with his nose.

It did its job, causing her to slowly drag her eyelids open as she took in the scenery, and then the person she was sleeping with. "Comfortable?" Seraph asked her, causing her to blush harshly and roll off of him immediately.

"Well, you see…" She attempted to explain. "It was cold and I thought we could share body warmth so we could surv-"

"Let's face it, Fiona." Seraph cut her off with a smile. "It's the middle of summer." She blushed harder and attempted to divert her eyes.

She was caught by surprise when she felt Seraph's arms wrap around her waist and he nuzzled his head on the back of her shoulder. "It's nice to know you care though."

He noticed that she lost her blush as she smiled back at him. "At least you're healed up." She said before contorting her face oddly, as if confused. "Seraph, where are we going from here?"

He scrunched up his brow as he thought of that as well. He looked beyond the flowing river and merely shrugged. "I don't know Fiona." He said. "I suppose we could always keep on the move."

She looked in the river's direction before looking back at his face. He appeared to shine with the rays of the sun in his face. She smiled and buried her muzzle into his chest. "Well, we can't quite move toward Robotropolis, now can we?"

Seraph nodded, caressing her head. "Yeah, Robotnik will probably be on high alert for us." He agreed. "We should keep on the move. We'll head east from here." She released him from the grasp and hummed in the affirmative. They then proceeded to jump into the trees and slip away.

They snuck through the trees, stopping whenever they heard an unnatural noise. When the sun was starting to sink, getting closer to the horizon, they heard a louder noise and scrambled for the underbrush, staying out of sight.

When the source of the noise revealed itself from behind a tree, they saw Disturbed walking swiftly, as if he was concerned. "SERAPH!" he shouted out, calling to his teammate. "FIONA!"

"Geez Disturbed." Fiona muttered while standing up, rubbing the inside of her ear in apparent hurt. "Do you have to be so loud?"

Disturbed twitched his head in her direction and immediately ran over to her, crushing her in a tight embrace. "Uh, Disturbed, your out-of-character-ness is killing me." She quickly whispered with her constrained air supply, notifying Disturbed to release her.

He rubbed the back of his head in an embarrassed fashion, notifying his apologetic attitude. "Sorry about that; I've been looking for you guys all day."

Seraph scrawled up from the bush as well, rubbing the stray leaves and dirt from his pelt while he eyed Disturbed. He glared at him slightly and hissed, "Who are you, and what have you done to Disturbed?"

Disturbed gave him a curious look. Realizing it was unsuccessful, he smirked and began to torque his body in awkward directions while a black mass formed in the place of his body. When his metamorphosis was complete, in his place was black, six-winged shadow dragon with glaring red eyes. "It's nice to know you can recognize me as someone else rather than Disturbed."

There was a sound of shuffling heard behind them and Seraph snapped his head in the direction, seeing the real Disturbed crawl out from behind a tree. "Honestly Shifter, your demoting me in front of my comrades by making me look like a total pansy." He muttered dryly.

"Well, _I'm _sorry, Disturbed." Shifter replied. "I was unaware of this so-called _social life _of yours."

Disturbed simply rolled his eyes and laughed at his mentor. "I still have a fearsome reputation to keep up, okay?" He told the shadow dragon.

Seraph swished his head back and forth between the two before finally interrupting, "Uh, hello? We're kind of clueless."

Disturbed decided to finally take notice of him and he smiled lightly, flashing his menacing fangs. "Oh yeah, that's right." He spoke nonchalantly. "This is Shifter, an old mentor of mine."

Fiona glanced skeptically towards Shifter and raised an eye brow. "Well, what a stereotypical name."

Shifter looked at her apathetically, with a crease in his eyes that made him look saddened. "C'mon, how many other people do you know that can shape-shift?"

"That's… sort of the point."

Shifter shook his head in disapproval. "Anyway, I was just leading Disturbed here over to you guys." He explained, changing the topic at hand. "I'll be on my way. Don't worry though; I'll probably see you again."

"Who said we were worrying?" Fiona pondered aloud, leaving the Shifter to complete a motion similar to rolling one's eyes.

"Very funny," he commented, "Remember, I'm watching you from the shadows." With that, Shifter sank into the shadows of the forest floor, leaving Disturbed, Fiona, and Seraph alone.

"Quite the mentor you've got there." Seraph said, while Disturbed proceeded to slap himself in the face.

"Not… a… word, fox." The reptile dragged out his sentence, adding an aggressive tone to it, which Seraph shrugged off. Residing with an insane sadist for a month tended to decrease your expectations for kindness.

"We were just heading east." Seraph spoke, as if he hadn't heard Disturbed's threat. "We plan to do this until we find a proper course of action to take, once our injuries have healed."

Seraph's face then grew dark as he turned to face Fiona. "That reminds me Fiona, where did you get those lacerations on your leg from?"

He thought he saw her eyes quiver for a moment before she quickly changed her expression. "Oh, it was just some stray shrapnel." She assured him. _What he doesn't know won't hurt him. _She thought, as she gave a convincing smile. "C'mon; we're heading east, right?"

Seraph smirked; knowing that is was in Fiona's personality to get to the point. Not wanting to keep her waiting, he waved his hand forward, signaling them to move on. This time though, with the enemy out of mind, they merely strolled through the forest, without a care in the world.

"It sure is nice, huh?" Seraph pointed out, taking in the view of the grassy plains, with a lone tree growing here and there. "You know, without the Director around to give us orders? It's like our own little vacation."

Disturbed exhaled sharply, mocking the statement. "Yeah, but there's no one around to sadistically frighten." He disagreed.

"There's always me and Fiona?"

Disturbed smiled lightly when he heard him say that. "Sure, but why would I want to scar friend for life?" He retorted, bringing slight warmth to their hearts. He really did care.

"He's been kind of suspicious though." Fiona remarked. "The Director, I mean." It was true. They would've thought that the Director would've sent for his three best operatives by now. Perhaps he couldn't find them?

"What's his deal?" Seraph asked rhetorically. "Sure we destroyed the power plants and his factories, but I haven't seen any of our activity in the city aside from two days ago."

Disturbed raised his bony arms behind his head and gazed up at the sky. "I've been trying to figure that out myself, actually."

Fiona only shrugged and shook her head. What use was lingering around a problem they couldn't solve? Instead, she decided to address Seraph on their bearings, "Why are we going east anyway, Seraph?"

The twin-tailed fox paused in his walking for a moment and furrowed his brow, trying to gather an answer. Returning from thought with no answer, he simply said, "I just have a gut feeling that we should go this way."

Traveling took them through a couple areas, mainly grassland and the meadow which they had happened upon most recently. It also took them late into the evening, as both Fiona and Seraph were covered in a fine layer of perspiration.

"Hey Disturbed, how come you're not sweating?" Seraph asked, stopping to sit down on a boulder that was next to a decent stream, most likely a tributary from the Great River.

"I'm a reptile, Seraph." He answered, giving him a blank stare. "I don't even have the proper glands _to _sweat with."

Seraph blushed embarrassedly, figuring that it was a stupid question. "Uh, yeah." He mumbled, looking away from Disturbed.

He squinted his eyes as the sun glared down at them. "It's been a long day, huh?" Seraph asked, trying to open up conversation. His results were a few grunts in the affirmative.

Deciding to look over the area before they set up camp, they got up and began to follow the path of the stream's flow. They watched as it slowly widened in size until they were met with the sheer awesomeness of one of the greatest water formations known to Mobian kind.

A waterfall.

_[Now Playing: __**"St. Andrew's Falls" by: Blind Melon**__]_

They gazed down the edge of the glistening waterfall, feeling their own eyes sparkle with glee. They decided to sit at the edge of the plumage, watching the water fall by the gallons and hearing the bellowing roar of the crashing.

The individual droplets of water flew through the air, tinkling with the sun's rays, forming a small, faint rainbow. "It truly is marvelous, isn't it?" Fiona said, her gaze mesmerized by the mere sight of the column of blue and white.

Disturbed seemed indifferent about it, simply looking over the falls with a dreary gaze. "I suppose it's okay." He muttered, while letting his legs dangle over the edge while the water splashed at him every now and then.

"I think it's quite nice." A familiar voice suddenly stated.

Seraph twitched his head to the side to find a grey wolf in a black trench coat and denim pants. He almost didn't recognize the wolf till he saw the faint wing outline in his blue eyes. "What're you doing here Metatron?"

The wolf shrugged as he sat down on the cliff edge. "I said I'd always be watching, right?" He simply answered, enjoying the serene view for himself.

Seraph took his answer for granted and continued to stare down the waterfall. "Why are you following us around anyway, Shifter?"

He looked back over to the wolf and saw him hanging a small trinket out in front of him. The necklace looked as if it were new, or recently polished. Its golden chain-link was intertwined with a bronze chain-link; the entire piece being adorned with several silver objects, which appeared to represent letters of some kind. In the harsh sun, Seraph could barely make out the message: **Diligere Semper**.

'_Love you always', huh? _Seraph thought, pondering over the message written in a dead language. "Was that for a friend of yours?" He asked him while he remained entranced by the jewelry.

He sighed gently, causing the necklace to jingle slightly in his wind. "No, it was actually given to me by a good friend." He answered. He clutched the trinket tightly and began to shiver. "A _very _good friend."

Seraph swore he saw the shimmer of a tear fall from his eyes before he turned away.

They were at a dead silence, seeming only to want the sounds of the rushing water fill their ears. No one could think of anything to say, and the topic was back to square one. The water splashing everywhere, sparkling with the sheen of midnight stars, was wetting the foursome as they pondered over the day.

With his mind left to wander in thought, he eventually trained his mind on the two appendages that extended from his rear. He brushed the fur of his tails between his hands, giving them looks of confusion. "Do you know why I have these tails, Fiona?"

She was slightly shocked by the question as she turned to see Seraph running his fingers through the fur with an expression of deep thought. "Who knows, Seraph?" She answered expertly. "Maybe Chaos gifted them to you for a specific purpose."

Seraph looked back at his tails, performing several actions with them. He waved them back and forth, up and down, and around in circles, pondering their function. Something seemed to click however, as he felt the spinning of the tails begin to enlighten him.

He then looked over the edge of the water splurge, deciding that there was only one way to find out. He then stood up and took an instinctual leap of faith from the cliff.

"Seraph!" Fiona shouted as she watched him dive down toward the ground. She could see Seraph becoming smaller as he fell the great distance, unto his certain death. _What was he thinking; jumping over the edge like that? _She thought, sadly reminiscing over it._ There's no way someone could survive that fall, not even someone like hi-_

"Hey Fiona, are you okay?"

She shot her eyes open and looked at the fox in front of her, hovering above the drop-off with the spinning of his twin-tails. When finally he landed, Fiona took a firm hold of him and slapped him across the face. "What was that for?" She berated him. "You scared me half to death! Why'd you take such a spontaneous action?"

Seraph paused, as if wondering what to say so that she wouldn't get angrier. "Hey, I figured out the purpose of my tails." He replied.

Fiona raised her hand to slap him again, but promptly let it fall and she pulled him into a hug. "Don't _**ever **_do that to me, again!" She demanded, almost shedding a tear or two.

Seraph was shocked by the action, but returned the gesture, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Why do you care so much?" He asked.

She merely looked at him in her peripheral vision and purred. "Isn't it important for teammates to care for one another?"

He smirked and broke the embrace, telling them to call it a day so they could set up camp. After setting up a fire ring, they all laid out under the stares, next to the river.

Fiona slept with Seraph that night.

_[Stop Music]_

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Knothole

July-15-4286

21:16 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"Hey You" by: Pink Floyd**__]_

Sally had recently woken up from her slumber, glad that her she could have the extra rest and not have to worry about anything else that day.

St. John still hadn't been found, but Antoine was still searching restlessly.

She decided that she'd take her time and wander around Knothole for the rest of the night. She passed by several small markets in her midst, most closing down for the night. They brought blinds down on their stands and began to turn off the lights, marking them as closed till morning.

Where she was headed though, was open all day, every day.

A small tavern was located at the dead end of Knothole, where the soldiers partied after victories, and the citizens there were the kindest… when they weren't drunk.

She sat at table in the small tavern, and looked over to the far end of the bar, wondering why everyone was so crowded in the area. The bar had a local band –The Forget-Me-Knots –come into the bar for concerts every now and again, but tonight wasn't one of those nights.

As the feline waitress came up to her and asked her what she wanted she glanced over the menu lazily. "I'll take a Mango Daiquiri." She said, before remember an important detail. "Hold the rum though."

The waitress nodded and immediately walked back to the kitchen to retrieve the drink. She waited a few moments before waitress return with the drink. "Excuse me," Sally said, stopping her from leaving. "What's going on over there?"

The feline waitress took a look into the crowded area and smiled lightly. "I'm surprised princess. I thought you knew that Sonic came down here for the local Duel Monsters tournament."

Sally looked slightly baffled by what she had said. Duel Monsters, more commonly known as Yu-Gi-Oh, was the most popular trading card game in all of Knothole. The game required luck, a good deck, and strategy beyond belief. Sonic wasn't the kind of person who fit the bill for that roll.

She walked over to the table, seeing that they were down to the finals match. Sonic was pitted against Gold, the very same hedgehog that had given therapy to Sonic a few weeks ago.

The game had always baffled her personally; seeing them constantly discard and re-summon cards, while they set and activated several traps and spells. It was Gold's turn now, and he drew a card from the deck. He smirked devilishly as he set down a card.

"I summon Dark Resonator." He declared. "I'll then tribute him and Sangan to the grave to Synchro-summon Dark Highlander." He put the two cards in the grave and took a card from the extra deck, summoning Dark Highlander to the field.

"I'll then take a 1500 or less attack monster from my deck. By returning Beige to my hand, I can summon Grappha from the grave. I then activate the effects of Gates of Dark World, removing Dark Resonator from play and discarding Silvva to draw a card. Silvva is then special summoned to the field and I normal summon Snoww*." All the moves he executed were in perfect sync, summoning a total of four very powerful monsters onto the field.

She was utterly baffled that Sonic simply stopped Gold's assault by activating his Threatening Roar trap, and that Sonic smirked when he pulled his next card. "End game, Gold!" he shouted as if he were high and mighty. Sonic then through his hand down on the table and displayed his game winning hand. "I've drawn the five pieces, and you lose!"

There, on the field, were the five pieces of Exodia. Hypothetically, if you drew all the pieces of Exodia, you won the game immediately. It was rarely done, and the only card able to stop the effect was one of the rarest in the world.

Hands down, Sonic had one the game on pure luck. He picked up his cards, collected his prize –sixteen booster packs to upgrade his deck –and left the table.

As he glanced over to Sally, he smirked and said, "I was unaware that you watched the tournaments, Sally."

She raised an eyebrow and placed a hand on her hip, as if to counter the statement. "I was unaware you played Duel Monsters."

Sonic's expression seemed to darken slightly as he looked down at the cards he was mindlessly shuffling. "I dabble." He simply stated as he wrinkled his brow and frowned.

_Oh, _Sally thought, the corners of her mouth dropping as well, _He must've done this more often when Tails was still alive._

They walked together for a moment before settling down near the Ring Pool. They overlooked the surface, rippling with water as they sat in silence. Conversation was still shaky and impossible for them to start.

For Sally, she always had a problem with starting these. She was unable to constrain what was on her mind into fewer than ten sentences most of the time.

Sonic was quite the opposite, normally able to say everything on his mind in a single sentence. "I still miss him."

Sally glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. As moonlight shone on him, she could see the trail of a tear make its way down his cheek. She held his arm comfortingly, stroking his back to soothe his discomfort. "I do too." She replied, simply yet heartfelt.

"So you think he's still happy?" Sonic asked, gazing into the stars. "Up there, I mean." He pointed his finger toward the stars, signifying his concern.

Sonic was a very religious person, always praying and believing that God would give them salvation. And, for so long, he had. He was concerned that God had left his little buddy high and dry during that mission, and his bond with the Lord was breaking.

"I reckon that he is."

Sonic seemed to smile, but she could still see the loneliness behind his eyes.

Perhaps, their decision to be rid of Seraph and Fiona wasn't the best.

* * *

><p>*For all of those who play Yu-Gi-Oh, I am referring to the scarcely used, but very amazing, Dark World deck; able to activate special effects by discarding them to the grave with other card effects. PM me if you want the full card list.<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Wow, it sure has been a while since my last update. A week huh?**

**Dislaimer: I own nothing that is not mine. I own everything that is mine. Disturbed, Shifter, and Hunter are copyright of Nobel 6.**

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><p>XXXXXXXXXXXXX<p>

July-16-4286

1:52 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"Gale Suite (Shippuu Kumikyoku)" on: Naruto Shippuuden Original Soundtrack**__]_

He fluttered his eyes open, expecting to find the welcoming daylight, but only to be greeted by dank, unwelcoming darkness. He looked at the small bulb that lit the hallway, seeing that it would soon need to be replaced.

He decided to take another step toward it, when he heard a plopping sound. Looking down at his feet, he saw that the floor was bathed in water, churning and shifting with his every movement. As he looked about the hallway, he saw many different pipes protruding, of different size and carrying a clear substance he assumed to be water.

_I've been here before, _Seraph concluded as he swished through the hallway, his shoes getting soggier with each step. _It's this dream again… but why haven't I woken up yet?_

He racked his mind for answers as he continued to mindlessly wander through the halls. _Maybe it's not a dream. The old legends say that the echidnae could commune with otherworldly forces using dreams._

As he continued his thoughts, he noticed that he had suddenly walked into something. In surprise, he fell backwards and into the warm water. He looked up, rubbing his head, to realize that he had bumped into the bars of an enormous cage, spanning the entire length and height of the room. Upon the middle of the gates was a large lock, bearing the words, _**Memory is the Key.**_

_Strange, the message is different than it was last time… _he speculated while examining the cage.

"Have you finally figured it out yet?"

Seraph flinched at the voice, to find that it had come from the same boy he had met in his last dream. The two-tailed kit was still trapped behind bars, only he seemed less timid. "Figured out what?"

"Who I am?" the kit simply answered, shrugging as he paced about his cellular confine.

Seraph pondered for a moment, looking at the tails. It was almost too obvious. "You're me… aren't you?"

The trapped kitsune put his hands together for a slow, exaggerated clap. "And the winner is Seraph Faron!" He congratulated him, before putting on a devilish smirk. "Or should I say, Miles 'Tails' Prower?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Seraph asked, looking at the fox. They were similar, yes, but he didn't believe that they were both the same Miles Prower who had been pronounced dead.

The fox behind bars muttered curses to himself. "That is irrelevant for now. How about you just call me Tails?"

Seraph nodded in the affirmative, though confused that _Tails _had claimed that he was Miles. "I want you to come closer to me for a moment."

Seraph, choosing to trust Tails, walked forward till he was mere inches from the bars. Tails walked toward the bars as well, and they were face to face. Without warning, Tails shot his hand out from the bars and placed it on Seraph's forehead.

He felt a piercing, cold pain, and he blacked out.

**_\|/_**

"Ha! You lose again Tails!"

Seraph snapped his eyes open to the scene before him. There, mere feet before him, was Sonic the hedgehog, throwing down strange cards. He couldn't see the person whom he was talking to, but something told that, at least for the time, he was Tails.

"Fine Sonic, let's go again!" His young, enthusiastic voice spluttered out before he could even begin to imagine where the words came from.

They took time to shuffle their decks, before laying them down on the table. Seraph, unwillingly completing these actions, was unable to control and simply watched the events play out. They drew five cards from the deck, and he took an extra card, as he was going first.

Looking at his hand, he thought of some strategies while his body completed the actions without even his approval. He set the monster "Stone Statue of the Aztecs" in face down defense, set a couple cards, and ended.

Sonic then drew a card and smirked. He placed a monster in face down defense and ended.

_I'll wipe that smirk right off his face! _Seraph thought, before wondering why he had these thoughts. He then turned over his face down trap card. "I'll activate Ultimate offering, which allows me to pay 500 life points to normal summon aside from my first normal summon." He said in his cheery voice, while Sonic smiled.

"First I'll flip my Guardian Statue, and his flip effect allows me to send one monster on the field to its owner's hand." Tails declared, pointing at Sonic's face down, which he meagerly took back. "I'll then set this monster, and pay 500 life points to summon Hieracosphinx to the field. I'll then have him attack you, for 2400 points of damage."

Sonic nodded, as if he was waiting for Tail to do something key. Seraph pondered the hedgehog's expression while he played his next card. "Then, by tributing my "Sphinx" card, I can special summon Exodd to the field in face up defense."

Tails then ended his turn, allowing Sonic to go. The hedgehog smirked and placed down the same monster card that was return to him last turn before placing down a card. "I'll use Dark Hole to destroy all monsters on the field!"

"And I counter with Dark Bribe!" Tails replied, while Sonic proceeded to silently fume. Discarding his negated spell card, Sonic drew another card as per the effect. He then tapped on the table, ending his turn.

Tails placed down a few monsters, paying 1000 life points respectively for the two extra summons. "I activate Book of Tayou, allowing me to flip one monster into face up attack." He said, flipping a monster on his side of the field into attack position. "It was an Earth monster, so you lose 1000 life points, as per Exodd's effect. Then, since I flipped Guardian Sphinx, all the monsters on your field are returned to your hand.

"I'll then activate two more Books of Tayou to flip my other two face downs into attack, meaning you lose 2000 more life points." Tails continued to string together his strategy while Seraph watched from within, feeling excitement build up. "I then activate Shield and Sword, switching the defense and attack of all face up monsters, making Exodd's attack 4000, the attack of Guardian Sphinx is 2400, and the others are 2000. With these I attack you directly!"

Sonic looked into his hand, back onto the field, and to his hand with complete disbelief. He breathed a sigh and smirked lightly. "I finally beat me, little bro."

**_/|\_**

Seraph backed away from the cage, awed at the vision he just saw. For some reason, the memories made him… happy, as if they were his own. Tails, behind bars, pointed at the lock on the cage. The lock seemed to have worn slightly, as if it were breaking.

Seraph remembered the message on the lock and looked at Tails, saying, "So, your memories are the key to unlocking this cage?"

Tails simply laughed heartily, slapping his knee at the comment Seraph had made. "It's not my memories that unlock it, Seraph." He claimed, sending him one final glare, "They're yours."

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

**~ (**_"So close, no matter how far… __**–Metallica**_**) ~**

_[Now Playing: __**"Eruption" by: Van Halen**__]_

…_**Syaoron the Fox presents…**_

…_**Using Material from Archie and Sega…**_

…_**As Well as Various Music and Themes…**_

_**RESURGENCE**_

_**Chapter 9**_

_**Open Mind for a Different View**_

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Great River

July-16-4286

6:16 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"High Hopes" by: Pink Floyd**__]_

Seraph was forced to lazily drag his eyes open as the first rays of sun shone through the trees' canopy. Dew dripped off of an above tree and onto his nose, causing him to shiver slightly at the unexpected droplet.

He stretched out his arms and legs, unfurling his tails and arcing his back as though he were a cat. When the fog had left his eyes, he attempted to sit up, only to be held down by Fiona's unconscious grasp. He laughed lightly before lying back down. Now free to his thoughts, he thought of last night's dream with intrigue.

_What does it all mean? _He wondered, mulling over the vision. _I was taken into a memory of Tails… right? _The pondering only seemed to further confuse him as he thought about it. _Tails… does seem a lot like me, but why would he need to explain everything so cryptically then?_

He shook his head, deciding to cease the thoughts and focused on waking his comrades. He nudged Fiona and she subsequently fluttered her eyes open, yawning and stretching her arms.

As soon as she had released her grip on Seraph, he rolled over and stood up, glad to finally be released. "Alright guys, wake up! We've overslept!" He shouted to them, possibly awakening everything within a good mile.

As Disturbed rubbed his ringing head, he groaned softly and muttered, "By what standards are we oversleeping?"

Seraph stood over him with an assertive aura, answering, "My standards, so get up!"

Disturbed moaned a bit more while he wearily stood up, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. "You don't have to be so bossy about it." He commented as he shoved a snoring Shifter with his foot. "Hey Metatron, wake up!"

Almost instantly, Shifter transformed from his wolf form and into his Shadow Dragon form, standing in a defensive position with his red eyes narrowed. It took him a moment to comprehend that he had been woken up, and he reverted to his casual wolf form. "Geez Disturbed, why'd you have to scare me like that?"

Disturbed merely shrugged, refusing to answer.

While Shifter and Disturbed argued about the matter, Seraph and Fiona were discussing their movement. "Moving in our current direction will lead us to the Southeastern Peninsula." Seraph declared, pointing at a section of the Mobius map that they hovered over. "The area is mainly tropical, and will probably prove benefiting if we were to remain there for extended periods of time."

Fiona nodded, hiding a sad smile. It was there that she had met Tails for the very first time, and she remembered very clearly the way he blushed every time their eyes met. She shuddered at the memory, knowing that –not too long after –she had betrayed his trust and love.

She heard a snap and looked up from her thoughts. "Hello? Mobius to Fiona?" Seraph called to her, pulling her off of that reminiscent train of thought. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She stated, nodding with a smile to confirm her words. "We better get going, huh?"

Seraph smirked and looked over to Disturbed and Shifter, who were practically shouting into each other's faces. "Alright you two." Seraph said, interrupting their fighting. They quickly stepped away from one another and snapped to attention sarcastically. "We're heading out, so smother the fire."

With a nod from the two, Disturbed proceeded to stamp out the fire while Shifter hefted a duffle bag onto his back. After giving runts of readiness, they all dashed off, further eastward.

As they went through the traveling, Seraph noticed that the world seemed to slow down momentarily. Everything faded darker for a moment and a figment of Tails appeared right next to him. "Still haven't figured it out, eh?" the figment said, before vanishing with the passing environment.

"Hey Seraph, are you still here?"

He perked his ears up and looked to his side, seeing Fiona giving him a concerned look. Seraph sighed and shook his head. "I don't know Fiona, I just don't."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Seraph looked away, as if ashamed. He _shouldn't _hide these things from her. He knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't bear to tell her he was insane. "No, I'll be fine."

Vast fields soon faded away, bringing entrance to spacious forest area, with palmetto bushes sprouting their fan-spread palms. "Well, the environment is changing." Seraph observed, attempting to bring about conversation.

"Yeah, it is." Disturbed agreed. "We should be nearing the peninsula."

After a short distance's walk, they exited the forest area. What they were greeted by was less than expected.

_[Stop Music]_

Out in a clearing was a building of some sort, loaded with state of the art satellites and equipment. The origins of this building could only be one person.

"Robotnik." Shifter muttered with a hint of disgust in his voice. There didn't seem to be any sort of pollution that was normally accompanied by one of Robotnik's buildings, so they assumed it served a different purpose besides mass production of robots. Dark crimson colored armor marked the Elite SWAT bots that guarded the building

After examining the equipment on the roof of the building, Seraph came to a single conclusion. "I bet this is one of the satellite buildings that transmits to Robotnik's SWAT bots!" He figured, snapping his fingers at the discovery.

"I say we take it out." Disturbed suggested. "It would take a load off of the Freedom Fighters."

The suggestion received a unanimous agreement, and they took the initiative, charging toward the building with the sun to their backs.

_[Now Playing: "__**Chop Suey!" by: System of a Down**__]_

Disturbed landed the first blow, charging in quickly and taking off the head of the nearest Elite and shredding the rest of the body with his diamond knife. He reveled in his kill for a short moment before a laser shot that flew over his head brought back to reality and he had to refocus.

The firer had his wrist laser pointed at Disturbed's head, and was about to fire before Seraph ran in and filled the bot with copious amounts of his M1911s' ammo. Clicking the magazine release, he removed the empty cases of bullets and clipped in two more to his pistols.

"That's two you owe me for, now." Seraph told Disturbed while aiming his pistols at the other bots, dealing them lethal doses of lead from the rear.

Disturbed just rolled his eyes and backhanded a nearby robot, flipping over it, and axe kicking the Elite behind it. "Says you." He retorted while whipping around and stabbing another robot.

"Enough with the banter, you two." Shifter scolded them in his Shadow Dragon form. He would fade in and out of the battle, dragging Elites with him and into the Shadow realm, where their parts were lost for eternity.

"I concur." Fiona said, taking her Colt Python and blasting circuits out of robots with the powerful rounds. She then ducked behind some cover to avoid a confrontation while she unhinged the cylinder and filled it with bullets. During this lull, she was unaware of a robot that snuck up behind her and hoisted her up by the neck.

She struggled in the grasp, feeling the air leaving her, before Seraph placed accurate rounds in the robots torso, rendering it inoperable.

When she was released, she gave him a thankful nod before they all moved in, only to find another patrol waiting for them inside. Seraph ran forward, yelling a dramatic battle cry and fired his pistols, to only be met with an unsatisfactory click.

He looked at his pistols in confusion, clicking the trigger a couple times and looking around his trench coated body. "Ah man, I'm _completely _out of ammo!" He shouted in surprise. "That's _never _happened before!"

He immediately forgot about his empty condition when a laser shot pierced his left arm. He growled in pain slightly as he starred at the robot that was responsible for the wounds and he rushed at it, tearing its processor out with his bare hands.

The room was soon littered with spare parts as they made their way to the main operations computer. Seraph cracked his knuckles as he read the screen and began typing away. "This system runs on a complex trinary code, exchanging numerals every so often to protect the system." He explained while typing digits into the terminal.

"Wait, isn't programming run on a binary coding?" Fiona questioned while they continued the hacking.

"Maybe you'll never know."

They all turned their heads at the sound of the monotone voice, to find it coming from a vaguely familiar robot. "Metal Sonic." Fiona muttered venomously. The robot did indeed resemble its supposed hedgehog counterpart from Knothole, with the exception of the large turbine in his chest.

"So this is the fabled Metal Sonic, huh?" Seraph asked mockingly, "Let's dance, bot."

In monotonous fury, Metal charged straight at them, hoping for a punch at Seraph, but it was unaware of Fiona and her revolver. Unaware that is, till she shot a high-caliber round into its turbine. The robot seemed to calculate the damage before passing it off as minimal.

Metal stuck out its left arm and began charging a sort of yellow energy. When he released it, Seraph realized it to be a ball of crackling electricity, and he quickly dove to the side, avoiding the lightning ball.

They all decided to rush Metal head on, planning to catch it off guard. They were then surprised when Metal Sonic began charging electricity within his turbine. "Oh sna…" Seraph was unable to finish his sentence as the robot rammed into them with an electric shield covering its entire body.

They were flung out in separate directions, as they hit the ground with an unceremonious thud. Struggling to their feet, they looked at the robot, which seemed to have over heated its system. _Now's our chance! _Shifter thought while rushing toward the robot, preparing to slash at him with his claws.

His timing was just barely off.

Metal Sonic came out of his daze as Shifter was closing in and he dodged to the side, causing both his attack to miss, and the attack Seraph had planned from above, causing them to crash into each other hysterically.

As they regained their composure and regrouped with Fiona and Disturbed, they noticed that Metal Sonic was preparing a sort of beam from his turbine. As it fired the ray, Shifter pushed them all into the shadow of a pillar and closed his eyes.

When he opened them, he saw that their pillar of cover was completely destroyed, revealing them. It had been turned to ash, as had the wall behind it. Seraph sweated nervously as he attempted to come up with a plan to take down the maniacal robot.

In their confusion, Metal Sonic rushed at them once more with his shield of electricity, flinging them against the walls and machinery.

Seeing that they were going to be recuperating for a while, the robot walked up to the one he considered most powerful and hoisted the Shadow Dragon in the air. "There are no shadows for you to hide in now, Metatron."

Shifter squinted his red eyes, glaring at the robot with hatred. "So, Robotnik knows of my presence, eh?"

Metal Sonic nodded and a gleam came into his eye that seemed almost mischievous. "He has known for some time." It confirmed, "I also know your one true weakness."

Shifter widened his eyes as he felt Metal sonic shoot a ray of electricity into him, causing him to jerk about violently. His form began to deteriorate, reforming into the trench coated wolf he was normally.

He attempted to crawl to his feet when Metal sonic began constantly streaming electricity into his body, making him twitch constantly. He writhed about on the floor like a fish out of water, his body transforming against his will.

When he began to black out and hope seemed most bleak, the room suddenly went cold and Metal Sonic's body was torn to pieces. Shifter widened his eyes and crawled into a standing position, no longer bound by the lightning and he searched for his rescuer.

"You're getting a little old for this Metatron."

As soon as he heard the icy voice, he completely froze up, his body locked with fear. He took a deep breath after a few moments' silence and turned to find a cyborg he thought he'd seen the last of.

Metal pieces were built around the structure of an echidna, and it made him wonder how he'd acquired such machinery that kept him alive. On his back were two obsidian katanas.

"I thought I'd trapped you in the Void… Hunter." He replied, his rage beginning to build. All the memories of Auriel began to resurface and he found himself squinting at the mere thought of those memories.

Shifter bent down on one knee, knowing that he was too weak to possibly fight against him in his state. "Oh please Metatron; enough with the formalities!" He replied in a hoarse voice. "You may call me Thanatos."

Shifter looked down, his head bent in shame and defeat. He was going to die here today. He could feel it in his bones. "Why don't you get it over with already?" He questioned. "I'm weak, and I know you want your revenge."

Hunter put his hands on his hips and gave the appearance that he was trying to be firm, but it was impossible to tell with his mask covering all the facial features. "That would be very unsportsman-like, Metatron."

He then strode over to the weakened wolf and brought his chin up with one of his claws. "When I kill you, it will by my claws alone."

Shifter felt blackness pulling at the edge of his vision and he knew he wouldn't be conscious for much longer. He was barely able to see Hunter running typing some commands into the nearby terminal before he fell into sleep.

_[Stop Music]_

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Freelancer Zeppelin over Robotropolis

July-16-4286

17:24 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"Ship of Fools" on: Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Original Soundtrack –Part 1**__]_

The Director sat at his desk, in a very typical form of lair. The walls were painted an eerie grey while he looked at his computer screen, light reflecting from the monocle he wore.

With his burdening cloak removed, he revealed himself to be a form of hedgehog, though his coloration was lost in the dim lights of the room. He pressed a button on the desk and spoke into a small microphone, "Councilor, could you please send her in?"

He waited a moment before he heard the door behind him slide open and shut, revealing his invited visitor. The Director stood from his chair and walked over to her. Even in the dim light, he could still see her so clearly; her black dress, her blonde hair, and her pale blue eyes. "It's been a while… Maria." He spoke in his deep voice, bringing a small gasp of shock from the human.

"I know, Director." She said, looking around the room and examining all that she could in the dim light.

"You can dispense of the formalities, Maria." The Director said, waving his hand to confirm it. "You're very special to me, I hope you know that."

Maria seemed to smile a bit at that. "My feelings are the same, Sha-"

The Director silenced her with a hiss. "Don't call me that. You know we can't have anyone hearing that."

Maria sighed and nodded. "Alright Caius, just calm down."

The Director nodded and looked into the back of the room, where he held his finest creation. "Looks like not even _the boy _could escape me this time, eh?"

Maria nodded, also looking at the containment tube in the back of the room. The both walked closer to it, becoming bathed in its blue light. Maria felt along the glass, as if searching for something. When she looked up at him, there were small tears in her eyes. "Is it really him?"

The Director nodded, swishing his red stripped spines about. "Yes, this is the boy. With him, all our past mistakes will have been washed away. He's in the palm of our hand and I can finally change the world for the better."

"Still…" Maria muttered, looking at the fox in the tube, "Is this the way to revolutionize? By tearing his life apart?"

The Director clenched his fist remembering the day he had taken up this mission. He thought back to when he had went back in time and saved Maria from almost certain death and returned to the future. Then, everything went haywire.

A war broke out because of some temporal distortion, and it was caused because of the Monarchy that had been established then because certain events failed to happen. It was poor, with too many loop holes and knots that they couldn't tie up, and they were being torn apart. With only one hope to fix his mistakes, he had gone back in time.

Now, he has only one mission.

"We need to establish our rule, Maria." The Director insisted; the memories almost bringing tears to his eyes. "If world domination and this child are the only means of creating a stable rule, then I will do what I must."

Maria simply starred into the glass chamber, looking at the child within. Was it wrong, to ruin the life of one to create another? "Oh Caius, why did it come to this?" She asked, looking over the suspended body.

"I'm not sure Maria." The black hedgehog replied. "All I know is that here and now, we can stop it."

He waved his hand, suggesting for Maria to leave, an order which she hastily followed. The Director glanced at the closed lids of the fox child's eyes and a tear rolled down his cheek. "I'm sorry it had to be this way… Tails.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Alright! Another chapter up! For those of you who wanted nother plot twist, you're about to get it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Sega, Archie, or Yu-Gi-Oh! Disturbed, Hunter, and Shifter are all owned by Nobel 6**

**Claimer: I own this plot, and all OCs not affiliated with Nobel 6**

* * *

><p>Transmitter Base; Southeastern Peninsula<p>

July-16-4286

22:15 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"Nothing Else Matters" by: Metallica**__]_

Shifter was nudged awake by Seraph a couple hours later. He rolled onto his stomach and pushed himself onto his knees, clutching his head as it pounded with a severe headache.

When he looked up to Seraph, his eyes were full of malcontent, glaring down at his wolf form. He tapped his foot eagerly, saying, "You have a lot of explaining to do."

Shifter groaned as he sat up, noticing that Disturbed and Fiona sat down as well as Seraph, forming a circle. He sighed as he leaned his head back, letting the memories began to flow... "The echidna who helped us out is my worst enemy; archenemy, if you will."

Seraph raised a calculating eyebrow at him, almost as if he were seeing right through him. "And he helped you out… why?"

Fiona swore she caught the sign of tears in his eyes before he wiped them. "Let me start from the beginning…"

**[FLASHBACK]**

"**Back in the day, I was part of the Guardian Union Nations, or GUN."**

_A burning building… how typical. _He thought as he starred at the blazing building. Skeptically glancing at it, he determined that the best course of action would be to douse it all.

Changing his form, he became an ice based entity, his every wolf-like feature now crystalized in solid ice. His eye gleamed with grey as he reached his hand out, as if pretending to hold the burning building in his grasp.

Shifter then clutched his fist closed and shouted, "ABSOLUTE ZERO!"

The building was immediately frozen in its place. Fire, though seeming impossible, was crystalized as every atom was frozen in time.

With the threat nullified, he casually strode into the frozen building, searching for any survivors.

He frowned as he realized that he had arrived late, with some of the bodies already burnt to a crisp. Most of the dead Mobians were no longer recognizable in their charred remains. He turned from some of the brittle remains of what was once a dachshund to find a shivering lavender furred fox curled into a ball.

He smiled lightly at her as he reverted to his normal wolf form and picked her up. Immediately, the vixen began to subconsciously snuggle up to him. He could feel the redness seep into his cheeks as she buried her muzzle in his chest.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he began to walk out of the frozen building; slowly, so as not to wake her.

"**Her name was Auriel. We became fast friends, and before you knew it, we were in a steady relationship."**

Many months after Auriel was saved from the burning building, they could be found sitting under great oak in the spring, cuddling and simply enjoying the day with one another. Shifter breathed through his nose, smelling the sweet smells from the flower beds around.

"It sure us a nice day, isn't it Metatron?" Auriel asked, laying her tail over Shifter's chest. It was a sure sign of their relationship that he had given her his real name.

He sighed, glancing over into her azure eyes for a short time before pulling her closer to him. "It really is, Auriel."

He looked at the nearby street, with people walking to and fro. He couldn't quite understand why none of them could have his carefree life. He had a substantial income, a girlfriend who also happened to be in GUN –also earning a similar substantial income –and all the time in the world.

"Maybe they're just not as luck as you and I." Auriel whispered, using her telepathy to finish his thought.

Shifter chuckled at her comment. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?" he rhetorically asked.

"Only about a thousand times!" She replied joyfully. He could feel her enthusiasm all the time, in every word she said, and in every movement she made.

"That reminds me, Metatron." She muttered while reaching into her tail fur for an object. When she found it, she brought her hand up to Shifter and offered the trinket inside to him. "I want you to have this."

He looked at the necklace, awed by its bizarre design. It was a thick gold thread, intertwined with a thinner copper chain-link. Emblazoned in silver on the necklace were the words: **Diligere Semper.**

'_Love you forever'… _He deciphered from the silver letters while give a faint smile. "I love you too, Auriel."

They looked each other in the eye for a few silent moments before Shifter pulled her in for a kiss.

"**My life was wonderful; I had everything I ever wanted. Then… **_**he **_**came."**

Their mission was simple, yet difficult. The two were to infiltrate an enemy compound and destroy an echidna by the name of Thanatos, more commonly known as the Hunter.

Infiltration was simple, as the guard was minimal, and their mission had gone smoothly till Hunter had learned of their presence. Now, they were running down a dank hall, chasing the shadow of a dangerous, intercontinental villain.

"Alright Auriel, I've got an idea." Shifter said when they came to a fork in the hallway. "You take the left, and I'll go right."

Though not much of an idea, the lavender fox nodded to him with a smile, diverging into the left path. Shifter realized too late that his hall came to a dead end, and his beloved was alone with the monstrosity that was their target.

Distraught with fear, he ran the other way, dashing around the corner and looking for any sign of her when he heard her distinctive shriek. "Auriel!" He called out to her, hoping she would respond. When he received no reply, he pushed himself harder to find her.

Rounding a corner, he saw her chained to a nearby wall, with scathes and lacerations covering her body. A pool of blood formed as the red liquid dripped from her shredded skin.

Right next to her was the metal platted echidna, going for another slash with his metallic claws, tearing more flesh and blood from her body. Climactically, he struck again, this time hitting her heart. She gasped once more before her eyes rolled into her head and she hung limp from the chains.

With a shout of anguish, Shifter charged at Hunter, holding aloft an item he rarely pulled out. The object was a white Sol emerald, one of the cross-dimensional sisters of the Chaos emeralds, with the ability to bend the fabric of space.

How he had acquired it was irrelevant to him as he shone it in front of him and a strange vortex appeared behind Hunter. The portal was outlined with various patterns and alien designs, drawing in the metal echidna with fierce gusts.

Hunter managed to cling to a piece of metal while the void continued to suck him in. Immune to its effects, Shifter strode over to him.

"My name is Metatron Arch." He stated solemnly, glaring at Hunter all the while. "You killed my wife, Hunter. Prepare to die."

Hunter simply huffed, giving the concept that he was smirking behind his metal mask. "No need for formalities, fool." He declared. "I am Thanatos, and this will not be the last you've seen of me!"

With that, the metal echidna released his death grip on the fraying metal and was lost in the void.

**[END FLASHBACK]**

"… And that's how I met him." Shifter finished, leaving Fiona and Tails biting back tears while Disturbed sighed in empathy.

With the sob story finished, Seraph checked on the operating computer and stretched a smirk across his face. "Whatever his motive is, he was courteous enough to complete the hacking, which means half of the robot army has been completely immobilized." The twin-tailed fox cleared up while returning to his comrades.

Disturbed gave a toothy grin and batted his palm with his fist. "Then, it's about time we give the Freedom Fighters some well-deserved back-up."

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

**~ (**_"We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone" –__**Ronald Reagan**_**) ~**

_[Now Playing: __**"Eruption" by: Van Halen**__]_

…_**Syaoron the Fox presents…**_

…_**Using Material from Archie and Sega…**_

…_**As Well as Various Music and Themes…**_

_**RESURGENCE**_

_**Chapter 10**_

_**Unalienable Assistance**_

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Knothole

July-17-4286

8:36 Mobius Time

"Wait… what are you trying to tell me, Sally?"

Early in the morning, the head Freedom Fighters had gathered for a meeting in Sally's cottage. Of those present were Bunnie Rabbot, Antoine D'Coolette, Sonic, Rotor Walrus, and the recently recovered St. John.

When John had been discovered in the _empty_ coffin they had made in honor of Tails, there was an outrage in the village for the desecration of the young martyr. Of course, after word was given in his defense, protestors in Tails' favor stopped their ranting at the disliked skunk.

"I'm telling you exactly what I'm seeing." Sally retorted, studying the holographic display intently. "The number of radio frequencies crossing through Robotropolis has decreased, and the robots are dropping like flies!"

Antoine looked over it skeptically, rubbing his chin in thought. "But, how ees zis possible? Why vould Robotnik's robots start exploding?"

Sonic smirked briefly and gave a sad smile. "It was Seraph." He stated confidently, "It just had to be."

"It doesn't matter how this happened." John said, furrowing his brow at the graph. "What matters is that we take advantage of this lull in activity."

Sally nodded while she gave them glances of affirmation. "This is the very opening we've been waiting for. One final skirmish and we can finally end Robotnik's reign!"

"YEAH!" they resounded, walking out the doors of the cottage and toward Robotropolis…

Toward victory.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Robotropolis

July-17-4286

12:15 Mobius Time

Even in midday, the entirety of Robotropolis was darkened by the seemingly perpetual smog clouds. As the Freedom Fighters snuck through the city, they thought carefully over their plan. The hope was that they could infiltrate with minimal resistance and capture Robotnik without errors.

It was for this purpose that Sonic was starting to wonder why they had brought Antoine with them. He liked the coyote, but he was so timid that it was ridiculous.

As they crawled through the air ducts, they tried keeping calm during all situations. For Sonic, the pace of movement was agonizingly slow, and it was only more sluggish when they stopped whenever a SWAT bot patrol moved beneath them.

But all the slow movement was making it worthwhile. So far, there wasn't a peep of their presence.

It was then that Antoine tempted fate and ruined the mission. He pawed over a small grate in the duct that was known for falling out from beneath them. Antoine had been told this several times, so you'd think he'd skip over it, right?

The clumsy coyote put weight on the grate and immediately fell through, in front of a conveniently present SWAT bot patrol. "So much for a keeping everything quiet!" Sonic shouted as he jumped down the grate and spin dashed through the robots.

Almost instantly, red lights pulsated overhead and alerted the entire base of their existence.

_[Now playing: __**"Hundreds of Thousands" by: Tony MacAlpine"**__]_

As robots streamed in from all over, the remaining Freedom Fighters dropped from the duct in an organized fashion. "Nice going Antoine." Rotor scolded him sarcastically while fending off robots with his Tactical Machine Pistol. With the thirty-round extended magazine, it created the effect of a miniature assault rifle as hollow-point rounds ripped through the wires and mechanisms of the swarming SWAT bots.

"Eet ees not of my faults!" Antoine shouted in defense while cowering behind the tubby walrus. "The grate just slipped, and…"

"Enough with your complaining, 'toine!" Sonic shouted. He spotted a bot about to swing for his head and he rolled to the side before carving straight through it with a spin dash. "I don't want to deal with your complaining right now!"

Nodding meekly, Antoine drew a silver rapier that was kept at his side and made his best attempt to start dicing up robots. Though shaking in his boots, he found that his constant training with the thin sword had paid off, as the SWAT bots fell to pieces with his every swish and stab.

Antoine was too busy gloating over his newfound courage to notice the robot that was aiming its laser at him from behind. Thankfully, Sally came in the nick of time, whipping a kick around before the bot could bring its bearings to the coyote's head.

"Pay attention Antoine!" She yelled at him as she began weaving in and out of laser fire. "This is a war zone; not a college graduation sermon."

Once again, Antoine became red in the face and continued to focus harder on the robots, if only to please Sally.

Bunnie was having a ball, pummeling robots with an iron fist… both literally and figuratively. "Y'all 're gonna have ta make up for Antoine's lollygagging." She ordered while launching herself forward, planting her steel foot in the nearest available robot. When she landed however, she was unaware a robot aiming its laser and firing at her.

The result of the laser was a bleeding wound in her left arm. She grimaced at the pain and fell back behind a bunch of pipes, letting the others take them for a while.

Sally noticed her friends wound and she growled angrily, elbowing a nearby bot. She then grabbed its wrist and contorted it the other way before kicking it off into other bots, causing a mass chain explosion.

Red lights whizzed by, some almost hitting them as they rushed for cover. "Fall back! Fall back!" Sally ordered, waving her arm back to signal to them over the laser fire. She was beginning to run back before she tripped over some excess shrapnel. Falling forward, she rolled over and on to her back, scrawling away from an overhead robot.

In defeat, she squeezed her eyes shut and hoped her death would be quick. She heard gun fire, something clanging on the floor, and she reopened her eyes.

The robot in front over had fallen over, oil leaking from its side. She then heard a soft whirring, like helicopter blades, and a figure floated down in front of her.

"It's not like you to be so scared, princess."

Sally widened her eyes at the voice, staring at him with utmost respect. "Seraph?"

He nodded and lent his hand to lift her up. "The one and only!" he spoke confidently while keeping his eyes on the robots. Drawing his pistols, he fired off several rounds into the sea of enemies as Fiona, Disturbed, and Shifter dropped down from the ceiling above.

"What did I tell you about starting without us, Seraph?" Disturbed asked rhetorically, while slashing back and forth with his diamond knife.

Seraph simply shrugged as he watched the reptilian tear his way through SWAT bots that stood in his path. "I don't know… something about not doing that." He answered, letting his nonchalant voice drip from his tongue as he continued to shred the bots around him with bullets.

Fiona chuckled lightly and was loading the chambers of her Python Revolver, closing the cylinder when they were all full. "You two need to focus on the task at hand." She ordered playfully while popping up from behind cover and filling the bots with lead, ending the last of them.

_[Stop Music]_

The halls were silent and littered with metal shrapnel as they came out from their hiding. Sonic gave a skeptical glance to Seraph and asked, "What are you guys doing here?"

"Saving you, of course." Shifter retorted. "We _were _the ones who took out the real broadcasting station."

"I'm assuming you know the objective?" Sally pondered aloud, to which Fiona nodded. Sally grinned, seeing how their odds of winning had just increased, and they progressed to the control room.

The door to the room was in sight when they figured something was wrong. It was becoming _too _easy. Even Robotnik would have certainly had some kind of personal guard, but no bot was in sight. Sally gulped, hoping that it wouldn't be a surprise attack or ambush waiting for them.

What was waiting for them was much more unexpected.

They walked in to find Robotnik being hung by the neck on the ceiling. He was suspended on a wire and his blood drenched body dripped with the liquid, pooling below him. The fat man's body was covered in rips and tears, having been mutilated in the most brutal of ways.

"Wha-what is this?" Sally shouted at the sight of the tortured body. She could never have imagined who could've brought this upon the man.

"That would be my work."

Sitting in the throne of Robotnik was a cloaked figure that Seraph recognized immediately. "Director, sir? What are you doing here?"

The Director clicked his tongue as he stood and reached for his hood. "Let's dispense of these formalities, Seraph." He said while pulling his cloak off and revealing a black hedgehog with red streaking down his spines. His eyes were red and his chest was emblazoned with a giant XX.

"I am the last of Alpha Squad, and the leader of this operation." He declared himself. "I am number twenty: Judgment. I am Robotnik's murderer! I **am **Shadow the Hedgehog!

"Now Seraph, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way." Shadow said. "You can come willingly, or this will break out into a fight."

"What's going on Director?" Disturbed shouted. "Why the harsh demands?"

"It's not your place to ask, Disturbed!" He retorted maliciously.

Seraph thought quietly for a moment and starred at the hedgehog he had known as the Director. _Why would he be doing this? Why didn't he do this on his own a long time ago?_

It was then that Seraph came to a conclusion. "It was never your motive to kill Robotnik, was it?"

Shadow smirked and began clapping sarcastically. "Very good Seraph! My motive is much greater than just Robotnik. World Domination was what I seek, and you have all been my tools to get it!"

Seraph began to glare at him and got into a fighting stance. "I don't know why you're doing this _Shadow_, but I won't even give you a chance until I get some answers!"

Shadow nodded understandingly. "Then, it seems I must drag you back to base!"

_[Now Playing: __**"I Am All of Me" by: Crush 40**__]_

Shadow held a small jewel aloft and smirked. "I don't suppose you've ever seen a Chaos Emerald, have you?"

They didn't know how to respond to the question, and were too late to realize the jewel's purpose. Shadow clenched the jewel and shouted, "CHAOS CONTROL!"

It was over within seconds.

Within the second that the bright flash of light had allowed, Shadow had managed to knock out all of the Freedom Fighters. Fiona seemed to sweat a little at the brutality and began to back away. "That kind of speed is impossible!"

"Not when you're me, young Fiona." Shadow claimed before shouting, "CHAOS CONTROL!" once more.

From Shadow's perspective, everything moved in slow motion. He saw Disturbed and Shifter attempting to charge at him, and he made that a fatal mistake for them. He lunged at their slowly moving bodies and struck a couple of quick punches and kicks in just the right spots.

He then snapped his fingers and time returned to normal, sending Shifter and Disturbed flying in the other direction. He looked at Seraph and Fiona's dumbfounded faces with glee and spoke, "Chaos emeralds allow the user to manipulate time and space, giving me the ability to slow time down for you."

Then, without the use of Chaos Control, Shadow rushed at Fiona in an attempt to catch her off-guard, but was unexpectedly kicked off his course.

He glared daggers at Seraph who was standing guard over Fiona, and he decided to keep his focus on the fox. "I'm sorry it has to be this way Seraph, but I _must _have world order!"

Shadow then rushed at him and struck a chain of combinations which were equally blocked by Seraph. Continuing this, Seraph finally spotted a hole in Shadow's defense and utilized it, striking a punch to his abdomen before following with several more punches and a round kick, sending Shadow into the wall.

"It's clear that I've underestimated you." Shadow muttered before smirking. "This will be more fun than I thought!"

Seraph then rushed him again and flipped, attempting to perform an axe kick. The kick was swiftly blocked by Shadow, who then countered with an uppercut. Whilst in midair, Seraph managed to grab the arm and he pivoted around it, launching a kick to the back of his left leg and causing him to buckle.

Shadow growled angrily and took his arm, twisted him to the ground, and kicked him into the wall. Seraph groaned as he used the wall for support to stand up, and gave Shadow a weary glare. "I don't know what drives you to world domination, Shadow, but I'm going to stop you!"

Shadow sighed again and gave him a momentary look of sadness before covering it in a veil of anger. "You don't understand anything, Seraph!"

Shadow charged at him again and pounded his fist into Seraph's stomach before he could put up a block. He then began striking several combinations of punches and kicks, all the while keeping him trapped on the wall.

He backed off a little while later, letting Seraph cough the blood out of his lungs.

Raising his hand, Shadow then raised his hand and beams of light began forming above him. "CHAOS SPEAR!" he shouted, launching the beams of light at Seraph and causing several small explosions.

Bloodied and rattled, Seraph lent against the wall for support, clinging to whatever consciousness he had left.

It wasn't long before Shadow began to walk up to him, about to perform his ultimatum, before Fiona came up from behind and kicked him in the back of the head.

Shadow glared as he held the back of his reeling head, starring at the red fox with malice in mind. "None of you understand anything. There are so many lives at stake, and you are so blind!"

Fiona simply held her ground in front of Seraph, refusing to move. "Maybe we are blind, but that doesn't give you the right to take over the world." She replied, somewhat afraid of the hedgehog that stood before her.

"You worthless wench!" Shadow yelled at her before charging at her with a fist.

She shut her eyes, awaiting the punch, but it never came. Instead, Seraph stood in front of her, having caught Shadow's punch with his shaky hand. Shadow smirked once more, gazing at Seraph with an odd expression. "Still standing, huh? You're so much more like me than I anticipated."

_What's that supposed to mean? _The twin tailed fox thought as they stood in a lull of silence.

"Fine then; if you want to be difficult, so be it." Shadow said, turning around and walking away all the while. "All the robots in Robotropolis are disabled, and I want you to return here in three days Seraph, or I will find you, and I'll have hell crawling at my heels."

Seraph lasted only long enough to see Shadow disappear in a flash of light before darkness tugged at his vision and he fell unconscious.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Alright TailsXFiona fans, this is the first of a couple chapters you willl be seeing that will finally show the true development of their relationship.**

**Disclaimer: I don't claim or own anything that is rightfuly Archie's, Sega's, or Yu-Gi-Oh!'s. Also, Disturbed, Shifter, and Hunter all belong to Nobel Six.**

**Claimer: I own this plot, and other OCs not affiliated with Nobel Six.**

* * *

><p>Robotropolis<p>

July-17-4286

17:06 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"Stay Together for the Kids" by: Blink-182**__]_

When Sally awoke, she expected to be in the welcoming atmosphere of her cottage at Knothole, greeted by the whistling of birds in the morning and the noise of the community's people. Instead, she was given a cold welcome by the steel, bloodstained floors of Robotnik's city.

She shook her head as she rose up, looking at those around her. John was busy scolding Antoine for something while Sonic rubbed the back of his head in pain. He saw Rotor talking to Bunnie about something that was clearly causing the rabbit to blush, but she couldn't tell what they were saying.

She looked over and saw that Disturbed and Shifter were unconscious; she didn't know why. He then looked over to Seraph and Fiona. Seraph had apparently woken up recently from what she could overhear, but it didn't look that way.

Seraph gripped at his head, as if in deep thinking. She knew otherwise when he began to clench his head rather than simply hold it. "Seraph, are you okay?" She muttered, barely loud enough for them to hear.

Seraph turned toward her and smiled sadly, shaking his head. "I'll be fine Sally..."

"Seraph, you're not okay!" Fiona chastised him caringly. "Shadow did a number on you, so don't try to pretend like you'll be okay."

Seraph almost immediately dropped his smile, returning to a fearful expression. "What do I do, Fiona? If I don't go, he'll just kill everyone around me!"

Sally looked at him in confusion. _Go where? Is he being threatened? _To her knowledge, Shadow had simply knocked them all out after revealing himself to be the leader of the Freelancer organization. She wasn't conscious for very long after that, so she had to ask, "What are you talking about, Seraph?"

Fiona shot her a quick glare before she returned to caressing Seraph's good arm. "Shadow's threatening Seraph to turn himself in, or he'll bring an army to find him."

Sally shook her head and gave them a concerned look. "Bring him to Knothole. No one's ever found it yet, besides those who are given the information confidentially."

"I couldn't do that Sally," Seraph replied. "I don't want to out you guys in danger."

"Don't say that!" She scolded him. "You're starting to sound like Tails, Seraph. We trust you to keep yourself… moderately. The least you can do is trust us to keep ourselves safe."

With reluctance, Seraph agreed and Fiona heaved his arm over her shoulder, commanding Sonic and Sally to do the same with Disturbed and Shifter. Still, Shadow's words echoed in his mind…

"_I want you to return here in three days Seraph, or I will find you, and I'll have hell crawling at my heels."_

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

**~ (**_"Forever, and ever… let's make this last forever." –__**Blink-182**_**) ~**

_[Now Playing: __**"Eruption" by: Van Halen**__]_

…_**Syaoron the Fox presents…**_

…_**Using Material from Archie and Sega…**_

…_**As Well as Various Music and Themes…**_

_**RESURGENCE**_

_**Chapter 11**_

_**Celebratory Mood**_

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Knothole Tavern

July-17-4286

20:15 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"First Date" by: Blink-182**__]_

News of Robotnik's defeat spread quickly around the community. People were jumping for joy at the comforting words as they began to hastily form a long overdue party.

With a clear location set, party favors and banners were set all around the local tavern, suitable for Mobians of all ages. And why wouldn't there be? This would become an international holiday.

"Drinks are on me!" The bartender shouted as cheer was shown throughout the room.

Seraph seemed awkward when he entered the tavern, even though his best friends were at his side. Though Fiona coaxed him inside, and Disturbed and Shifter were already busting out the vodka, He couldn't find it in him to _let loose._

"C'mon Seraph," Fiona practically begged him. "I want you to finally have one day of calm. You've always been uptight since the day we met!" She then gave him a flirtatious wink and his cheeks began to burn with a bright red color.

Regaining his composure, Seraph smiled and patted her back, giving her a brief "thank you". They then migrated over to where Disturbed and Shifter were to find that they were still at it, not having been affected by the alcohol's potency yet.

"Hey, Seraph, Fiona, join the party!" Sonic shouted from across the bar, holding up a glass of brownish-yellow liquid.

Sonic was soon nudged by Sally's elbow as he took a sip of the whiskey. "Sonic, I was unaware that you were a drinker!" She playfully scolded him.

He simply laughed it off. "Only for you, babe."

Seraph chuckled under his breath as their conversation escalated to unknown levels of intimacy. He sat down at the bar and looked around the room, seeing everyone partying merrily, people laughing at others' jokes and experiences.

He was happy to be there, watching the merriment, the excitement, the drunken Antoine… okay, maybe not a drunken Antoine. The coyote seemed to be making a fool of himself, doing some kind of weird dance while singing _"I'm a little teapot"._

"Does he do this often?" Seraph asked Sonic, referring to the currently insane Antoine.

Sonic shrugged and chuckled at the sight. "No, but I'm never gonna let him live this one down."

Seraph laughed even harder as he asked the barkeeper for a glass of Glenfiddich. As he sipped the single malt whiskey, he could feel the liquid clear his nasal cavity and burn down his throat. It brought a tingling sensation as he continued to drink the remaining alcohol in his glass, and he decided it wasn't to his liking.

"I didn't think you were the whiskey kind of person." Fiona murmured to him, to which he smirked.

"You thought correctly." He answered, bringing a mocking smile to her face.

Looking at her when she smiled, it made him melt inside. Only remembering a couple months of his life, he assumed the thing he felt was love, and went with it.

As Seraph went about the party, he and Sonic began boasting about their times fighting each other. "No, I slid under that kick, remember?" Seraph said, causing Sonic to scratch his head.

"Oh yeah…" The hedgehog muttered, causing the gathering crowd to chuckle. "But, you didn't dodge the axe kick I threw at you!"

"No, I blocked it, and threw you against a wall."

There was a moment of silence as the crowd soaked in the news. From behind the bar, the keeper shouted, "That's a burn!"

Sonic fumed shortly –causing an outburst of laughter –before he exited the scene, returning to his whiskey drinking.

Seraph and Disturbed shared a laugh, giving the other a high-five. "Where _do_ you pull this memory after your amnesia?" Disturbed mused.

Seraph brought his hand to his chin, stroking it before shrugging; clueless. "I suppose we'll never know." This resounded in more laughter, even leaving tears in Sally's eyes from the hilarity.

"So Seraph, tell us more about yourself." Sally asked opening up conversation. She didn't know, however, that she was cutting it off.

Seraph looked around, nervous but eager to share his near inexistent past. "I don't know that much about myself, to tell you the truth."

Sally raised an eyebrow, thoroughly confused. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You see, I don't remember anything about my life before a couple months ago." Seraph explained, starring off into space. "I suppose I'm into machinery and the like. It's like I just _know _these things."

Sally, in utter disbelief, scoffed slightly. "Into machinery, huh? I'd like to see you explain to me the inner workings of Nicole's processing."

"You're on," Seraph stated confidently, holding out his hand. Sally deposited her hand-held computer in his hand.

He removed one of his gloves and pried off one of the panels, looking over the computer's innards. He furrowed his brow and looked back at Sally. "… Are you serious? You want me to explain this simple thing?"

Sally cocked her head to the side. To this day, the only person ever able to explain the processing of Nicole had been… _Tails… _she thought, completely baffled by Seraph's claim.

"Nicole runs on a quadruplet core processing, with inner atomic workings. The red wire here transmits data in the form of molecules, the shape of which are reminiscent of Skilling's Great Disnub Dirhombidodecahedron. The complex motherboard implies the use of carbon fiber transmission, rather than silicon. You simply have a computer with an impossibly large memory, scanning, artificial intelligence programming, and projection capability. The only complicated thing about her is the programming."

Sally starred on at the fox, confused to the point where she believed it had to be _him_; it had to be Tails. There was no way he could figure those things out without a microscope.

"Hello? Mobius to Sally?" the words snapped Sally out of her daze as she looked at Sonic, who had apparently spoken. "You okay?"

She nodded, her face empty of emotion. She then snatched Nicole away from him and screwed the plating back on, albeit a little hesitantly.

In due process, Seraph put his gloves back on and yawned, stretching his arms out, he thought back to his conversation with Shadow…

_[Stop Music]_

_What am I going to do? _He thought, his mind now troubled by Shadow's blackmail. _He wants me to return, but if I do that, then there's no telling what he'll do to me…_

He glanced across the bar, looking at all the happy faces. He saw Fiona, actually having a good time and he felt that melting feeling inside him again. Frowning, he turned the other way, and Fiona pondered his sudden movement. _But… I'll do it, if only to keep them happy and alive… _he concurred, getting up from his seat and exiting the bar.

Fiona laughed at one of Antoine's most recent drunken misfortunes. According to Antoine, today was official "Wear Broccoli in Your Ears" day, and a hiccupping coyote was stumbling around the bar, his cheeks a rosy red ad his ears stuffed with the healthy greens.

Deciding to tell Seraph about the plight, she looked to her side and frowned seeing that he had apparently left.

She then caught a glimpse of his tails disappearing around the corner of the exit and she quickly rushed out after him.

Tears were in his eyes as the twin-tailed fox walked toward the edges of Knothole. He could feel his breath becoming shaky as he walked toward an inevitable fate of darkness.

He would've gone on, were he not constricted by two arms. He just stood there, knowing who was behind him without even needing to look.

They just waited, watching the leaves blow in the wind. Neither said anything, only waiting till the other broke the ice.

"I have to do this Fiona." Seraph muttered.

"Please don't leave…"

"You know it's unavoidable. I can't put the villagers in this kind of danger."

"I don't care, just stay…"

"But, what about everyone?"

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYONE ELSE!"

Seraph, shocked at what had come out of her mouth, turned and faced Fiona, seeing the tears in her eyes. She threw herself onto Seraph's chest, crying into his fur while Seraph wrapped her with his arms. "I don't care if we're in danger!" She shouted through her tears and bawling. "I don't want you to leave me!"

Seraph ran her words in his head for a moment before he lent close to her ear. "Have it your way Fiona." He murmured playfully, nipping at her ear with his canines.

She jumped a little, surprised by the catty nip at her ear. The blush was almost indistinguishable from her fur, it was so deep.

They were brought out of their trance when a snap and a flash went off. They twitch their heads to the side to see Disturbed holding up his Kodak camera. With a smirk and a shake of the head, he said, "Could you two possibly… I don't know, get a room?"

Seraph blushed heavily, and turned away, deciding to walk back to the tavern before it became any more awkward. He was followed hastily by Fiona and Disturbed –the later of the two was being slapped by the prior. Seraph could faintly hear Fiona shout at the reptilian as the sounds of the tavern grew louder.

"Look Seraph!" Fiona exclaimed, pointing toward a stage in the background. "Mobius Unleashed is playing!"

Mobius Unleashed was the name of the band that Sonic had formed. It was nearly complete, with Sally as the bassist, Sonic as the guitarist, and Rotor as the drummer. They were currently searching for a vocalist to join them, and Fiona grabbed Seraph's hand, holding it aloft and volunteering him.

"Seraph, my man! Thanks for participating!" Sonic spoke over the roar of the crowd. Reluctantly, Seraph hopped up on the stage, giving a glare in Fiona's direction.

He then whispered mischievously to Sonic who smiled right back. Giving Fiona a confusing wink, he grabbed the microphone and prepared to sing. Fiona lamented over the wink for a moment before noticing that Sally was tuning her bass.

Sonic strummed a few notes before the band finally blasted out in union.

_[Now Playing: __**"The Rock Show" by: Blink-182**__]_

The intro rocked all their ears for a short moment before they got used to the insanely loud noise. The awesomeness of the playing was indescribable. After the short intro, Seraph finally began the vocals, which he knew by heart.

_**Hanging out behind the club on the weekend  
>Acting stupid, getting drunk with my best friends<br>I couldn't wait for the summer and the Warped Tour  
>I remember it's the first time that I saw her...there<strong>_

The crowd roared louder as they continued rocking, and Fiona began blushing an incomprehensible shade of red. Why had she put the devilish fox up to this challenge?

_**She's getting kicked out of school 'cause she's failing  
>I'm kinda nervous, 'cause I think all her friends hate me<br>She's the one, she'll always be there  
>She took my hand and I made it I swear,<strong>_

_**Because I fell in love with the girl at the rock show  
>She said "what?" and I told her that I didn't know<br>She's so cool, gonna sneak in through her window  
>Everything's better when she's around<br>I can't wait till her parents go out of town  
>I fell in love with the girl at the rock show<strong>_

Seraph smirked, still eyeing Fiona while the lyrics flowed from his mouth. He could easily spot the red blush forming on her cheeks, and smirked directly at her, causing a deepening in the color.

_**When we said we were gonna move to Vegas  
>I remember the look her mother gave us<br>17 without a purpose or direction  
>We don't owe anyone a freakin' explanation<strong>_

_**I fell in love with the girl at the rock show  
>She said "what?" and I told her that I didn't know<br>She's so cool, gonna sneak in through her window  
>Everything's better when she's around<br>I can't wait till her parents go out of town  
>I fell in love with the girl at the rock show<strong>_

_**Black and white picture of her on my wall  
>I waited for her call, she always kept me waiting<br>And if I ever got another chance I'd still ask her to dance  
>Because she kept me waiting<strong>_

_**I fell in love with the girl at the rock show  
>She said "what?" and I told her that I didn't know<br>She's so cool, gonna sneak in through her window  
>Everything's better when she's around<br>I can't wait till her parents go out of town  
>I fell in love with the girl at the rock show<strong>_

_**With the girl at the rock show…  
>With the girl at the rock show…<br>With the girl at the rock show... **_

_[Stop Music]_

Loud cheering erupted from the gathering listeners as the song climaxed and ended. "Thank you, Knothole! Goodnight!" Seraph shouted, doing his best to imitate a stereotypical rocker. Sonic was in the background, slapping his knee at the copycatting.

After helping the band pack up their equipment, he hopped down from the stage, right next to Fiona. "What did you think Fiona?" He whispered to her, "Good enough for you?"

She chuckled at his silly attempted to make conversation. "Come here, you." She ordered, enveloping him in a warm hug. Without hesitance, Seraph returned the gesture, embracing the warm feelings he felt when he was around.

It was quite the oddity for Sonic to see someone who looked so much like Tails with Fiona. He knew the kit was perfect for her, but it was too bad that Tails had to meet his untimely demise.

Shaking his head from the thoughts, he purposefully nudged Seraph with his elbow. When the kitsune turned to look at him, Sonic raised an eyebrow at the kit and let out a low growl.

Seraph simply slapped the hedgehog, undaunted by his teasing. Sonic then nodded back toward the stage which still had the microphone up.

Behind the microphone stood Sally, about to give a speech that would go down in the history books. "Fellow Mobians!" she spoke, her voice amplified by the equipment. All the visitors of the tavern promptly turned their heads as Sally began her speech.

"For ten years, we have been under the tyrannical rule of a mad man bent on mechanical onslaught!" Her face appeared to be red with anger as she continued. "He has roboticized several of our loved ones, and conquered much of Mobius! This man was Ivo Robotnik!"

Several boos were given in response to the repulsive name, and neither Fiona nor Seraph was an exception to this example. "The key word in that statement was _'were'. _We _were _under his rule. Alas, we have finally freed Mobius from his rule! Robotnik is finally dead, and his evil industrialization stops here!"

Cheers were rooted throughout the tavern shortly after. It was almost unbelievable; a dead Robotnik. But, it had finally been accomplished, if not by their means.

That had Seraph worried. Sally was failing to tell them about their encounter with, which he thought was vital to that portion of the mission.

But Sally skipped right of over that information, and went straight to the dismissal. "It will be hard to build this nation back up to its formal glory! There will be hardship, and hard work! However, in time, we will once again have a nation free from dictatorship!"

The crowd once again resounded with happiness, shouting with glee at their liberation from their dictatorial leash. Of course, Seraph still had Shadow on his mind. _Why didn't Sally tell them? Shadow could come any time after the next three days; letting us lull into a false sense of security before he crushes that security._

He was about to rush right back out the tavern's doors when Fiona grabbed his shoulder. She gave him a pleading look and shook her head. With a sigh, Seraph smiled back at her and nodded, understanding her silent plea.

"I heard there were going to be fireworks tonight." Fiona noted. Famous fireworks displays were often given during huge parties, such as this one. Other such parties may have included New Year's Day, Christmas, and perhaps the inauguration of a new Queen or King.

But today was the day of Liberation, and would be boasting a much more extravagant, fantastical show of explosions.

They heard the significant _'POP' _of the colored rockets and rushed outside, soon followed by the other partiers. They arrived just in time to see to see the lights of a single firework fading away along with the smoke. It would be the first of many.

_[Now Playing: __**"Champagne Supernova" by: Oasis**__]_

All of a sudden, the night sky caught fire as lights danced about the starry atmosphere. Dabbles of green here; an expansion of red elsewhere; the scene was truly beautiful. However, it was only beginning.

Whites and blues began exploding on scene, the bubbles of colored flame shooting out in all directions and fizzling out with loud cracks before fading black. Seraph could see the light of the fireworks in Fiona's eyes, and he sighed at the sight.

Her face, her eyes, her body; everything about her was beautiful… and he wouldn't have it any other way.

He suddenly grabbed her from behind, pulling her into a hug while she gasped in surprise. "Seraph, what are you…?"

"Just go with it." He cut her off, focusing back on the fireworks while he held her in his arms.

With the corners of her mouth stretching up, Fiona sighed in response and returned to watching the sky.

The coordinated explosions of color now began to take the form of several familiar faces, including all of those that _helped _with the slaying of Robotnik.

Sonic's face was shown first, in a flurry of blues and tan for his muzzle and the emerald highlights of his irises. Then, Sally was displayed, shown by several orange explosions and blue irises. Even those hailing from Alpha Squad got a place in the memorial, as their faces flashed onto scene before fading like the remainder of the rockets.

"It's amazing what we can do with fire, these days." Seraph claimed, completely awed by the showcasing of fireworks. "Even if it's nondestructive, we can still do some amazing things with it."

Fiona leaned back into Seraph's chest and sighed, marveled by the scene as well. She hadn't seen fireworks like these in years, and it had been a long time coming throughout those days. The results of her efforts made it all worth it, as she thought. They had put an end to Robotnik's reign, though they didn't technically do it, and peace was finally upon them, if only for another three days.

She flinched at that thought, knowing that they were only going to be given a grace of three days. _But it's all okay, _she thought firmly, visualizing the scene before them and the happy faces of all her friends. _Sure, we still have another threat out there. But for now, it's going to be alright._

The events that had finally brought this moment upon them were countless. Several missions, the caliber of their difficulty being extremely high, were needed. Several accidents needed to come to light. Nonetheless, everything that had gotten them there made it all the more worth it.

Now that she was putting thought to it, it actually turned for much better than she hoped. Shifter and Disturbed had finally gotten over their feud, the length of which she had no clue. The Freedom Fighters had finally forgiven her, after all this time. All the more important, she was finally accepting her feelings towards a certain kitsune, and she knew he was well aware of it.

With all that had gone good since joining the Freelancers, and her reformation toward freedom fighting, she was starting to believe that perhaps, she could finally make up for all that she had done while under the Suppression Squad.

Reveling on her days in the squad, she noticed that everything had gone downhill once she had reunited with them. She had reverted back to her ways of malice, and it really went down the drain from there. Here she was now though, and everything was absolutely perfect.

_Maybe there really __**is**__ karma out there… _she chuckled lightly as the thought processed in her mind.

"What's wrong, Fiona?"

She looked up to Seraph, noticing his raised eyebrow. She looked past that though, and only saw a caring soul on the inside.

She smiled and heaved a sigh. "Nothing Seraph," She whispered... _Nothing at all…_


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: This will be the final chapter before I start getting back into the action. Just some more confusion for you, my lucky viewers. XD**

**Also, to the anonymous reviewer, 50 Tyson: Did you really read my story just to tell me I used your story name? Do you know how many "Resurgence"s there are out there? It's not your story name!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Sega, Archie, Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the music I use. The OCs "Disturbed", "Shifter, and "Hunter" are property of Nobel Six.**

**Claimer: I own this plot and all OCs that are not included in the previously mentioned.**

* * *

><p>Captain's Room, Freelancer Zeppelin<p>

July-18-4286

5:12 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"Away From the Sun" by: 3 Doors Down**__]_

Shadow lent up against to the glass, breathing a heavy sigh. It was too much for him.

As much as he wanted to correct history, a part of him still remained; the part of him that still _cared._

He couldn't just do this to one of the only people who ever truly befriended him. He was the one who was always there; the one who was always happy and brightening up his day. No matter what the weather was that day, Tails always found a way to be bright and cheery.

Now, the only thing keeping him connected to the kitsune was his empty body. It was just a carcass sitting in a tube, without a soul.

He watched as the young kit's limbs bobbed about randomly in the tube, and wished that things didn't have to be this way. Even if the only option was complete domination, he didn't want to have to kill off the original, only to have a bleak copy that was scarcely reminiscent of his younger companion.

"Why did it have to be this way Maria?"

He drifted his gaze over to the side to see the blonde haired human staring at the child as well, her eyes welling up with tears. Tails had been with them both, through thick and thin. Even when Sonic had completely abandoned them for his monarchal position as King, Tails still came around. To see him like this completely broke her heart.

"If only there was something we could've done differently." She simply muttered in reply.

Shadow flashed a sad smirk for a second. "Remember the day when he was banished from Mobotropolis?"

"You mean, when Sally and Sonic thought he was a serial killer, simply because he was at the crime scene and there were no other suspects?"

They shared a brief chuckle at the event. Still, that had practically killed Tails. He was depressed that Sally and Sonic –two figures that were parents to him –would turn on him, without even a due court of law.

It was on that day, so many years in the future, that Tails had run away from Mobotropolis and accidently bumped into Shadow and Maria.

"There are so many things I'd have liked to change, Maria," the hedgehog muttered under his breath. "I wish I could've protected Tails rather than killing him. I wish I could've…"

He faded off as he noticed that Maria was gawking at the containment unit. Rather than chastise her about it, he looked at the tube as well to find the source of Maria's gawking.

The kit's tails were moving… not flowing with the water, but they were moving in the way that a fox does when he's _alive. _Then, to his great surprise, Tails snapped his left eye completely open.

Shadow's eyes widened as he stared at his ominous eye, the iris of which was shining with a radiant, white light.

He then smirked confidently. "Maybe there's hope for him after all."

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

**~ (**_"Conscience is no more than the dead speaking to us." –__**Jim Carroll**_**) ~**

_**[**__Now Playing: __**"Eruption" by: Van Halen**__]_

…_**Syaoron the Fox presents…**_

…_**Using Material from Archie and Sega…**_

…_**As Well as Various Music and Themes…**_

_**RESURGENCE**_

_**Chapter 12**_

"_**More like Me; Less like You"**_

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Unknown Location

July-18-4286

5:20 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"Numb" by: Linkin Park**__]_

It was becoming too repetitive. Once again, he found himself staring into the eyes of his doppelganger, through the gold bars of his prison.

There was no conversation this time. They simply sat at opposite sides of the barred wall, deciding what to say.

"This is it, Tails." Seraph said with a hint of distrust in his voice. "I've had enough of these games. Who are you, and why do you look so much like me?"

Tails only smirked, having knowledge that he couldn't pass along if he wanted to. "On the contrary, _Seraph,_" He countered with the same amount of distrust. "I should be asking that. Who are _you, _and why do _you _look so much like _me?_"

"Why do you keep trying to assert yourself first?" Seraph asked. He looked up and down Tails, trying to ascertain why he was who he was. If it were anyone else in his head, he wouldn't care.

But, no. This kid knew who he was, and showed him things that were so familiar to him, it was scary. This kit had been directing Seraph's dreams for so long, giving Seraph so many of his own memories, that he didn't know what to believe about him.

"Maybe you'll understand one day." Tails muttered, shaking his head. Then, he blinked and his left eye shined with a luminous white light. "You may think I only see you in dreams, but no. I see everything."

Seraph could also feel heat emanating from his own body, and he felt across his face till he hovered over his right eyes, the source of the light. What was once his red eye turned to a vivid white and he screamed. He clutched his eye as it burned with an undefined amount of pain, like thousands of needles pricking his iris, one by one.

"What are you doing?" Seraph shouted, buckling his knees as he keeled in pain. Tails simply stood, unaffected by the burning as his left eye glowered down at Seraph.

"As I said Seraph, I don't just see you." He told him simply. "I don't just see inside of you. I see what you see, and you can see what I see."

However, all Seraph saw through his currently-white eye was darkness. "If I see what you see, then why is it all black?"

Tails remained silent and sighed, walking toward the front of the cell and pointing at the lock, which still bore the sentence _**"Memory is the Key"**__. _"You know what; I think I figured out what your problem is."

Seraph walked forward, if only to see what he had to say. _He says __**I'm **__the one with the problem, _he thought, before stopping in front of the bars.

"I'm not the one behind bars." Tails muttered cryptically, jabbing at Seraph's chest with his finger. "You're the one who's locked up and bound to a life you don't know anything about."

Seraph backed away, noticing all of a sudden that the passageways that normally led out of the room had disappeared. He looked back through the bars and began to shake. No, rather than disappearing, the hallways had appeared on the other side of the room.

"What's going on?" Seraph shouted as he grabbed the bars, shaking them as if with some false hope that they would simply fall apart.

"One day you'll understand, Seraph." Tails said; a commanding tone was present in his voice. "But for now, what you need is to understand what you have."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Knothole

July-18-4286

6:39 Mobius Time

"SERAPH, **WAKE UP!**"

The kit quickly snapped his eyes open and sat up. He found that to be a mistake as he received a horrible migraine and was forced to lie back down, clutching his head. He looked to his left and saw that Fiona was next to him in the bed, with a concerned expression on her face.

"Fiona, what happened?" He muttered through his headache.

She sighed, seeming at least slightly calmer when he showed no intense signs of pain. "I've been waiting for the better portion of six in the morning for _you_ to tell _me_ that."

He then took time to look around the room. Apparently, they had been given a small hut for their stay in Knothole, at least for the time being.

He then looked at the hand that he had clutched his head with and saw the glove smeared with blood. He then experimented, feeling over the area of his right eye. As he suspected, blood trickled from his red eyes, and across his cheek.

However, when he uncovered the eye, he still couldn't see anything. "What's going on?" He muttered, slightly afraid. He looked toward Fiona with his good eye and she could see the blue eye quivering, as if about to tear up.

"I think Sally has a mirror in her hut." Fiona whispered, trying to calm him while suppressing her nervousness as well. "Let's go and see if she'll help."

As Seraph wearily got up from the bed, he almost tripped over his own feet. Fiona was luckily by his side, and she caught him before he stumbled to the floor.

As quickly as they could, the two hobbled across Knothole in the dark before morning. Seraph had his arm draped around Fiona as she half carried him to Sally's hut.

When they arrived, Seraph lent up against the wall in exhaustion. He was surprised at the amount of effort it took for him to merely walk across the dirt road, even with Fiona's help.

Fiona knocked on the wooden door lightly, hoping that only Sally would hear. When no one came, she began to panic slightly. "C'mon Sally…" she whispered, knocking a little harder on the door.

She finally got a response, in the form of Sally yawning before the squirrel groggily muttered, "I'm coming."

Fiona listened to Sally shuffle her feet across the wooden floor and she began to become irritated, in the sense that she was impatient.

When Sally finally peeled the door back and took a look at Seraph, who was still bleeding from his right eye, she screamed in initial shock. Fiona was only able to quiet Sally by placing her hand over the squirrel's mouth, muffling her shouts of terror.

When Sally returned to a moderately sane state, she still had a worried look in her eyes. "Fiona, in the name of all that is holy, what happened to him?" She whispered, unable to veer her eyes from Seraph's tears of blood.

She saw the blood pooling under him and beckoned them inside, hoping to uncover the reason for his bloody eye. "We don't know what happened, Sally." Fiona replied innocently. "I just woke up recently. I know you have a mirror, so I'd like Seraph to get a look at himself."

Sally nodded. To see Seraph bleeding from his eyes was a complete anomaly to her. To her, it was supposed to be impossible to cry blood, yet here he stood with blood running down the side of his face.

When he turned on a light and looked in the mirror, he was surprised to find that the damage was… minimal, to say the least. There were no scratches, cuts, lacerations, or any other wound in his eyes that could have caused this. _If that's so, then why am I blind? _He thought, pondering over the darkness in his right eye. _I should be at least seeing red… right?_

He shook his head, trying to process this new disability. Would he always be blinded on that side? It was in that train of thought that he realized the severity of this wound. If he was disabled, he would become a liability to the team; useless and a hindrance.

The realization struck him hard, like a kill order to the unjustly accused. He clutched at his head, frustrated at the things that he couldn't control. "Why is this happening?" He whispered through a raspy voice.

Fiona sighed, relieved to see that he was still in a state of reasonability. "It'll probably clear up soon Seraph. All you need is rest."

Seraph shrugged, wiping the blood and tears from his eyes before heading toward the door.

Sally however, swiftly blocked his way. "Seraph, you can barely stand." She argued, eyeing his shaky legs. "Why don't you take my bed for the rest of the day?"

He would've objected if his body wasn't crying out for rest. Though it was just his eye, he felt completely drained. Lying down on Sally's bed, he quickly fell into an undisturbed sleep.

_[Stop Music]_

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Sitting atop a distant tree, boring his stare into the village that was Knothole, Hunter smirked confidently. Then, turning around, he started to leap between trees, a multitude of thoughts running through his mind.

_So, Tails is finally breaking through, huh? _He mused, thinking back to how everything began.

Reaching for a small pocket in his metal exterior, he pulled out a small, white rectangular gem, with fine cutting near the edges to give it a more refined look. "Funny, Metatron. You send me to an alternate dimension as an ultimatum, but it turns out that the place actually _holds_ these Sol Emeralds." He spoke aloud, as if expecting someone to hear him.

"Is that what happened?"

Hunter retained his calm demeanor as Shifter landed on a branch next to him. Breathing a sigh, he turned to Shifter. "It was hell going through that dimension; don't even try to make it sound like it was easy." He retorted with a violent edge to his voice.

Shifter simply shrugged, moving quickly till he was right behind Hunter. He then slipped out a small sword and held it against the metal echidna's neck. Hunter was able to get a clear look at its details as the sun slowly rose; noting the ruby encrusted hilt and the thick, white metal blade which curved to a fine point at the end. "You remember this sword right?"

If Hunter reacted at all, it was impossible to tell, as his masked face kept the expressions hidden. "Of course I do. This is the very sword Auriel used against me." He said, masking his surprise. He couldn't imagine why his opponent would pull such a historic weapon on him.

"Yes, you remember correctly." Shifter confirmed, pushing the blade against Hunter's metal neck. "She loved this sword like it was a part of her. Its name is Xaquira."

Hunter tilted his head to the side as if confused, before righting his head. "It seems tonight won't pass without a fight, Metatron."

"You know I can't let you get away with what you did to her, Thanatos."

Once more, Hunter let out another long breathe. "Then let us do battle."

_[Now Playing: __**"Empty Walls" by: Serj Tankien**__]_

Hunter turned swiftly, attempting to swipe at Shifter with his claws, but he leaped out of the way. With the battle beginning, Shifter transformed into his Shadow Dragon form and flew at Hunter, his blade primed at his side.

Hunter quickly reacted and caught the blade in his hand while Shifter continued to push against him. With the shift of his wrist, Hunter launched Shifter at the ground. He then dived at him and planted a devastating kick to his back.

Shifter hit the ground with a tremendous thud, sliding across the ground and creating a crater in his wake. When he arose from the crater, he gritted his teeth in anger and charged at Hunter while he was still falling. He slashed at him a couple times with Xaquira, but Hunter continued to dodge the swipes in midair.

As they passed each other and landed, they realized that they were in a small clearing. As if on cue, the both turned around in synch and began attacking the other. When Hunter lunged forward with his claws stretched outward, Shifter averted his hand using Xaquira.

Going into a short clash of blocking, dodging, and attacking, Shifter spun to dodge a kick and aimed his sword for Hunter's jugular. Barely reacting in time, Hunter bent backward, practically watching as Shifter's sword passed harmlessly over him. Then, using his momentum, he planted his hands on the ground and kicked upward at Shifters chin.

Unable to avoid the kick, he sailed through the air backwards. Recovering shortly, he flipped over and soared through the air on black wings, and materialized his red Sol Emerald from the shadow realm.

Aiming his hand at Hunter, he shouted, "SOLUS SPEAR!" Rather than launching the yellow beams of light that Shadow's Chaos Spear displayed, these light spears were violet in tint. Hunter but up his hands to block the blast, but the colored light blast still left scalding on his metal exterior.

He grunted as the heat met his skin. Though not much, it was still enough to cause irritation. Keeping in mind to dodge the rest of those spears, he rushed forward to strike Shifter before he noticed one detail too late.

"SOLUS CONTROL!" He declared, vanishing in a blip of violet light and reappearing behind Hunter and pulling him into the Shadow Realm.

When they landed in the off-white dimension, Shifter narrowed his red eyes at Hunter. "Give it up Hunter. I thrive in this realm, and I'm your only ticket out."

"You think so?" Hunter testified with a confident smile. Raising his own white Sol Emerald, he continued to stare down Shifter. "You're not the only one who can use solus control."

The Sol emerald then started glowing with an inner black light from the benevolence used to control it. "SHADOW FORCE!" Hunter shouted, causing the white shadows of the black world to extend and assault on Shifter.

As Shifter dodged the tendrils of white shadow, he sweated, knowing how rare it was to acquire this power. "So, you've mastered Shadow Force, huh?" he commented, attempting to shrug it off as nothing.

"It was a bad idea for you to bring me here, Metatron." He replied, "Of course, it helps to have a Sol Emerald to use this ability."

Shifter widened his eyes as he came to a conclusion. "You can't accomplish it without one of the Emeralds of Power?" He continued to think of the possibilities of this while dodging the shadow tentacles.

"No, I can't."

Deciding he needed to get rid of Hunter's shadow powers, he exited the Shadow Realm hastily with Hunter on his heels. They arrived back in the field they were battling in before, but the sun was slightly higher in the sky, with less shadow for either of them to use.

"Before I end you, Metatron," Hunter began, giving a decisive glare to Shifter. "Do you know what the relationship between Sol energy and Chaos energy is?"

Shifter merely narrowed one eye, giving the appearance that he was confused. "What's that supposed…"

"They're exactly the same."

Utterly confused, Shifter pondered over this. "Wait, you mean they're _one and the same_?"

"Exactly Metatron," the Metal Echidna confirmed. "Now let me ask you… Do you know the difference between light and dark chaos?"

"Of course I do." Shifter said, thinking back over the concept. Chaos had a dark and light side, dependent on the emotions or purposes of their users. Dark Chaos was born from states of depression and anger, and from purposes of malcontent, and it was often seen in the natural state of phosphorus, blue gel; orange gel, if it were Sol Emerald based. Dark Chaos had an inept ability to corrupt what it touches –if it is exposed long enough –and turn it into Dark Chaos as well.

However, light chaos is rarely found naturally, but it is most often described as yellow light reservoirs; or purple light if it was Sol Emerald based. Light Chaos was born from emotions of kindness, gratitude, or love, but also born from purposes of justice. Light Chaos was known for purifying Dark Chaos and healing many wounds that could normally not be healed through simple medical means.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Shifter asked, becoming wary of his surroundings and anything that Hunter could do.

"You see Metatron; I am not affected by the negative aptitudes of Dark Chaos thanks to my armor." The metal echidna splayed out his armor with pride, glancing at its sheen in the early morning sun. "That means that I can completely annihilate you with its effects."

He held the Sol Emerald aloft, letting the dark energy seep out and encircle him. As the flowing Dark Chaos Energy was absorbed into him, yellow energy crystals began to spike from his back and his armor began glow with a ghostly orange vapor.

Then, raising his hand to Shifter, Hunter unleashed a barrage of Dark Chaos Spears, completely blowing Shifter away. He felt the energy burn him as he was blown backward by the sheer force of it.

His feet dug trenches in the ground as he maintained his stand, though his upper body was being berated by the orange energy. He only looked above his guard when the barrage had finally stopped, and he wished his didn't the second he did.

Hunter stood before him, with his hand outstretched, pointed directly at Shifters face. "You can't beat me, Metatron." Hunter claimed, glaring at the Shadow Dragon form of Shifter. "I can finally exact my revenge on you for sending me into that hellish dimension."

Shifter suddenly smirked, albeit it was difficult. "I didn't come here to die Hunter." He claimed, clenching his knuckles around the red Sol Emerald he held. "SOLUS CONTROL!"

Instantaneously, the Shadow Dragon vanished in a flash of purple light.

_[Stop Music]_

Hunter sighed, leaving his eyes to gaze at the spot where Shifter once stood. From behind the metal mask, he blinked several times, trying to process the situation. In finality, he leant up against a tree to rest. "He ran away this time… good…"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Knothole

July-20-4286

5:03 Mobius Time

He mentally strained himself to wake up, well aware that he was asleep. When alas Seraph came to, he was still aching from the pain in his head; more specifically his eye. He finally sat up and forgot about the pain when he heard someone walk in.

He turned toward the door and attempted to open up his right eye. Even though he did, he was still restricted to a black field of vision on that side of his eye. With his left eye though, he was able to identify that it was Shifter in his default wolf form. "Wow Seraph, you look like you've seen better days." He commented mockingly.

With his best effort, Seraph glared at Shifter through one eye. "I don't want to talk about it."

When Shifter took a more careful look at Seraph's left iris, he inwardly gasped. What used to be red seemed to have bled out of color… almost literally. The iris now held a grey tint; almost white. "What happened to your eye?"

"I don't want to talk about that _either_."

Suddenly, in a jolt of shock and fear, Seraph jumped out of Sally's bed and shook Shifter violently. "What's the date today?"

"What?"

Seraph felt a flicker of annoyance burn through him and he shook harder. "WHAT DAY IS IT?" he screamed, almost vaporizing Shifter's eardrums.

"Stop being so loud!" Shifter shouted right back, getting Seraph to finally calm. Firmly gripping the kitsune's shoulders in return, he said softly, "It's only the twentieth… why; you got a date?"

Seraph finally freaked running around the room without stopping to take a breath. "Oh my God, oh my God, OH MY GOD!"

"SERAPH!"

The kit stopped in his running and looked at Shifter who was tapping his foot in impatience. "What is so important that you can't seem to calm down?"

Seraph sighed and, rather than having a frightened expression, he gave one of defeat and sorrow. "Today is the day, Shifter."

Shifter raised his eyebrows and began to shake. "It's not…"

"It is."

Seraph walked over to the window and stared of into the dark horizon. "Shadow's coming today… and he's dragging hell at his heels."


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: Happy Memorial Day from the US! Because it's a special occaision, you get an extra update!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Archie, Sega, or Yu-Gi-Oh! Shifter, Disturbed, and Hunter are property of Nobel Six.**

**Claimer: I own this plot and all OCs not associated with Nobel Six.**

* * *

><p>Unknown Location<p>

July-20-4286

5:19 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"Eleanor Rigby" by: Godhead**__]_

_Ah, I remember this, _Shadow thought as he paced the steps he once took so long ago. He had been walking for a while now, wondering where he was. The answer came to him like an epiphany.

He was near the River Ulitoph, a small tributary of the Great River. It was here that he'd met _him _the first time.

The memory was crystal clear, as if it was the now rather than the past. He shuffled through the grassy scenery as Maria skipped happily right next to him. He glanced at her in mild annoyance. "How do you do it?"

The blonde human stopped her skipping and gave Shadow a blank stare. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, being _happy_!" Shadow clarified. "You're always so… positive about everything. There's nothing left for us, but you're still so giddy."

Maria widened her smile and ruffled Shadow's quills. "I have you, silly!" She exclaimed. "The way I see it, some people aren't lucky enough be friends with someone, like you and I are with each other."

He smiled and nodded in understanding. He knew how it felt to be one of those people, before he changed history and brought Maria back. "Thanks for explaining that to me Maria."

They decided to sit down near the river and gather their thoughts. Recently having stocked up on food and supplies, they wouldn't have to go back into Mobotropolis any time soon. They preferred keeping to themselves, as it gave them time to bond and share memories with one another. Shadow did however, pull out his water bottle and tipped it over, showing that he would need it refilled. Dipping it in the water of the stream, he filled it to the brim and took a small sip before screwing the cap back on and returning it to his backpack.

It was then that they noticed a small fox sitting in a tree above them. It appeared to them that he was asleep, but the boy's shivering and sniffling proved otherwise. Maria gave Shadow a look of concern, which the black hedgehog immediately discerned as a request to check up on the kit.

Shadow jumped up to the branch that the kit lied down on instantly noticed the deformation of his tail, more accurately, his _tails_. "Hey kid, are you okay?" He spoke in the softest tone he could muster, hoping not to frighten the child.

The effort was in vain as fox looked up at Shadow and practically screamed. "I didn't do it Sonic!" He shouted, cowering from the black hedgehog. "You already banished me, what more do you want."

Throughout all this, Shadow remained calm. "You must have me confused with someone else." He suggested. Subsequently, the fox child lifted his head and saw the red eyes and black fur of a hedgehog that was most definitely _not _Sonic.

"Oh, I'm sorry mister." The kitsune apologized for his outburst. "I thought you were someone else."

Shadow chuckled. The kid must've been… fourteen years old, and he acted more reasonably than some of the adults that he'd come across. "It's no problem, kid. You got a name?"

The kit nodded meekly. "I'm Miles Prower, sir, but my friends call me…" He faded off shortly, his eyes glazing over in sorrow before he refocused on the at-hand topic, "My friends call me Tails."

Shadow flinched slightly at his eyes. He'd had those eyes once before, when he felt lost, betrayed, and abandoned. He had those eyes for the first few weeks after GUN's invasion of the ARK. In an action inspired by empathy, Shadow picked up Tails and jumped down from the tree.

He and Maria stared at each other for a moment in silence before the black hedgehog set Tails down. "Why don't you talk to him, Maria?" Shadow suggested. "I'm no good with the psychiatric therapy stuff."

Before he walked away, Tails pulled Shadow down by the scruff of his chest fur and whispered in his ear through shaky breathes, "Thank you."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Shadow awoke from the reminiscent dream when he heard a knock at the door to his quarters. "Come in." He granted, and the door's knob turned, revealing Maria in her black dress.

She smiled sadly as she stepped in, closing the door behind her. She then stopped at the side of his bed and sat down, running her fingers through his quills. "It's the third day, Shadow." Maria muttered, only allowing Shadow to hear, though no one else was in the room. "Are you going to go through with it?"

Shadow simply nodded. He then hopped out of the bed and grabbed his cloak and put it on, making sure that the Freelancer emblem was displayed on the back. He looked in a mirror on the room to see the emblem; a red upside-down equilateral triangle that held a white circle inside. Inside of the white circle was a black infinity symbol.

When he walked out of the door, the Councilor was waiting for him. Garbed in a lab coat that bore the Freelancer emblem, the Councilor nodded to Shadow. "Your orders, Director?"

Shadow waved to his gecko councilor and said, "I want all units prepped for an invasion of the Great Forest; coordinates: X043, Y067, Z009."

The Councilor widened his eyes slightly. "Director, are we going to be invading Knothole already?" He questioned. All he received in response was a simple nod.

With business to be taken care of, the Councilor swiftly exited the vicinity to plot a course for the hidden village. Shadow smirked from behind the hood of his cloak. "I'll have to thank Tails for those coordinates one day."

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

**~ (**_"The worst part of you is me…" –__**"Lying from You" by: Linkin Park**_**) ~**

_**[**__Now Playing: __**"Eruption" by: Van Halen**__]_

…_**Syaoron the Fox presents…**_

…_**Using Material from Archie and Sega…**_

…_**As Well as Various Music and Themes…**_

_**RESURGENCE**_

_**Chapter 13**_

_**We Hate Us**_

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Knothole Town Square

July-20-4286

12:25 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"This is War" by: 30 Seconds to Mars**__]_

On a fine day like today, with no clouds in the sky, all the able bodied men, as well as the Freedom Fighters, were prepared for battle. The canopy above the town square was nonexistent, making it the most logical place to defend.

The women and children were all evacuated, leaving the defenders to take up posts in the formerly residential housing. St. John had taken some snipers into the surrounding trees, and they were overall loaded for bear.

In the center of the mob, leading his battalion, Seraph stood. He was surrounded by a couple Mobians wearing bullet proof armor that had been collected over time from many raids against the former Robotnik. Each soldier held a standard Beta-class Armalite AR-18 and was equipped with a S12-45 pistol.

From his battalion, he heard his name being called and he turned around to find Fiona making her way to him. She still wore her black clothing and chose to simply keep her Python Revolver. "What's the matter, Fiona?" Seraph questioned, to which Fiona shook her head.

"How do you know this is really happening?" She asked, leading him to wonder if Shadow was going to go through with what he'd claimed.

He thought back to the moment when Shadow had demanded that Seraph would return to Robotnik's headquarters, lest he find Knothole and raze it to the ground. The conditions were within three days, and their time was up today.

Seraph remembered Shadow's eyes from that fight. They were filled with every notable quality of malevolence he could ever imagine; as if he would go to whatever means to acquire Seraph. "He's coming Fiona," The kit simply stated, "Of that, we can be sure."

Waiting didn't take that much longer, as the significant sound of spinning rotors could be heard overhead. They all looked up to see the Freelancer Zeppelin, and they were opening up hatches from which to drop their troops.

The Freelancers simply jumped from the aerial fortress, some taking risky dives in a hope to avoid snipers. Some of them failed as Geoffrey's marksmen picked them off, causing limbs to explode into clouds of red.

"Soldiers, take aim!" Seraph commanded, aiming his own M1911 pistols at the skydivers along with his battalion. "Fire!"

Immediately, they unleashed a flurry of bullets at them, causing some to die before they even hit the ground.

Those that did land were covered in bullet proof armor and simply began to fire their own weapons, dispersing the defenders from the immediate area. Diving behind cover and other buildings, the two small forces soon entered an all-out gun war. Seraph himself was hiding behind the wall of a home; whose it was, he didn't know.

He peeked above the window and began firing pistol rounds at the Freelancers, only to have them ping off the bullet proof armor they wore. He inwardly cursed as he dropped his magazines and loaded new ones.

He rushed out of the house, performing a classic run-and-gun before diving back behind another house. He saw Fiona refilling the cylinder of her python and smiled. "Fancy meeting you here." He mocked while reloading his pistols once more.

She huffed, peeking out from cover and firing her high-caliber rounds off into the Freelancers. Inside the building were a couple of other vigilantes from their squad who were firing off the rounds from their Armalites.

Seraph poked his head around the corner of the building to see a feline Freelancer firing off an RPG at the house. "Oh, snap!" He barely yelled before diving, pulling Fiona with him. The entire shack burst into tiny fragments of bloodstained wood and straw.

Seraph grimaced at the moment before he looked over to another nearby house, which was being dealt with in a similar fashion. He saw Sonic being blown out of the hut by the force of it and he rolled, preventing any fall damage from being down.

The hedgehog then ran straight in, using his supersonic speeds to outmaneuver their aiming while Fiona and Seraph fired at the distracted enemies. "Sally always said he was good for diversions." Fiona remarked as Sally came out into the open, holding M320 grenade launcher with the stock extended.

She seemed enraged as she aimed down the sights and yelled, "Let's see how you like it, scum!" Pulling the trigger, a single 40mm grenade was launched from the barrel and detonated on impact in the midst of the Freelancer squad, spraying blood and limbs everywhere.

Seraph was about to fire on the remainder of the squad when he realized that his pistols had run out of ammunition… and his belt no longer held any magazines. "Why am I always running out of ammo?"

"Maybe it's because you can't conserve." Fiona simply stated whilst pulling the pin on a grenade and throwing it at the Freelancers.

The Freedom Fighters' squad of hundreds had decreased to only about thirty remaining, including John's sniper squad and the original Freedom Fighters. However, there were noticeably less Freelancers.

That luxury was taken from them as more began dropping from the Zeppelin.

Shifter, who was hiding in the darkness as the Shadow Dragon, did not like these odds. However simple his part was, there was always danger. Disturbed had gone along with John's sniper regiment and he was left to prowl the Shadow Realm and kill any of the stragglers.

He knew something went wrong when he heard an explosion and a familiar shriek of pain. Escaping from the realm, he quickly flew over to the source of the cry and he saw Fiona bleeding profusely. She was held in the arms of Seraph was looking down at her in disbelief.

"No…" he muttered quietly. His world had gone and left him high and dry. He felt absolutely helpless as he looked over the blood pouring from her arm with the shrapnel embedded in it.

"Don't cry Seraph." Fiona requested as she began to feel faint. "It just doesn't match your personality." Those were the last words she said before she fell into the welcoming arms of sleep.

Shifter looked down at Fiona, knowing full well that she would die… assuming she received treatment for those wounds. He looked over to Seraph, noticing that there was a rage building up in his eyes.

Sally and Bunnie came over to look during the lull of fighting and were surprised to see Fiona in her state. They actually appeared scarred for Fiona's life.

"SERAPH!" They all turned around at the sound of the voice projected through a megaphone. "I'm commander Jamal from Alpha Squad; number eleven, Justice! You are to surrender immediately! If you do, we will gladly stop this fighting!"

Emotionlessly, Seraph stood and walked from around the corner destroyed house and hung his head low. He saw Jamal –a robin, from the looks of it –and growled loudly. "How…" he whispered softly, in an inaudible voice.

"What was that?" Jamal asked, giving a discerning glare to the kit that stood before him.

Seraph instantly snapped his head up and glared right back. "HOW _**DARE**_YOU?" He shouted at Jamal and his platoon. "YOU WILL _**PAY**_ FOR WHAT YOU DID TO HER!"

_[Now Playing: __**"Raised by Wolves" by: Falling in Reverse**__]_

Seraph kicked up billows of dust as he covered the distance between him and Jamal at speeds that rivaled Sonic's own. He whipped around a side kick and Jamal flew back into a tree behind him.

The other Freelancers began to surround him in a hope to catch him off guard with their teamwork. A futile hope, but still a hope.

Seraph grabbed the arm of the nearest one –a Mobian leopard –and twisted, disarming him of his weapon before kicking the leopard in the back and breaking his spine.

He then hoisted up the body and threw it at the others as a distraction while he picked up the dropped SPECTRE M-4, popping the breach bolt, and unloading the Parabellum rounds unto the Freelancers.

Leaving only ten more standing after his barrage of 9mm fury, Seraph growled once more and rushed forward at insane speeds. He flipped over one of them and kicked backwards, sending the dog he jumped over into the ground, his throat crushed by the force of the kick.

After he landed, Seraph spun and kicked low at the nearby bear, tripping him up. As the bear tried to roll over, he received one last glare before Seraph stomped on his chest, causing his ribs to cave in. Looking over to the other eight who were slowly backing away, he laughed. This was going to be easy.

Seraph suddenly appeared in front of one with his speed, pummeling him in the stomach, causing the ferret to keel over. Seraph picked up the ferret's aching body and threw him at his comrades, who caught him in surprise. They were thusly unprepared when Seraph used his tail to propel himself into them with a fierce kick, taking them all out in one final move.

He noticed that Jamal was beginning to recover and he ran toward the robin, attempting to punch him in the face. Jamal simply redirected his fist away from him. "You're not like your lackeys, are you?" Seraph mused.

"No, I am far superior to them." Jamal answered while preparing to kick Seraph. He narrowly dodged the kick while countering with an uppercut of his own, which Jamal dodged by bending backward. He then kicked up and into Seraph chin, launching him into the air.

Seraph smirked as Jamal jumped up I the air to meet him. Jamal attempted to spin and kick Seraph in the side, but Seraph flipped and let the kick pass harmlessly over him. He then grabbed Jamal's leg and threw him back at the ground, leaving a small crater as Jamal rolled to his feet.

The two then went into a small exchange of punches and blocks, trying to get a hit in on the other. Jamal smirked and redirected one of Seraph's punches into a nearby tree, causing it to get lodged in the bark.

Seraph tried to get it loose, all the while blocking the punches and kicks that were thrown at him. He figured there was nothing he could do, until someone kicked Jamal from the side. Seraph slightly gasped as he saw Fiona stepping out from the shadows of the tree. "Fiona! I thought you were hurt?"

She chuckled as she began shooting at the tree around Seraph's arm. "You'd be amazed as to what a Sol Emerald can do." She responded.

Once Seraph was able to pull his arm out of the tree, the refocused their malice on Jamal. The bird stood up and backed away, not liking his odds at all. Two on one was never preferable, and he was on the receiving end of that bad luck.

"Jamal, give me one good reason why I shouldn't slit your throat right now." Seraph demanded while taking his gloves off and displaying the sharp claws he had. Jamal was shaking as he moved his arms behind his back, pressing a variety of sequences on his wrist communicator and hoping for the best.

"Because, I have help on the way." Jamal meekly stated, leaving Seraph confused.

"What do you mean?" Seraph interrogated him. "What kind of help?"

"My kind of help."

Seraph and Fiona swiftly turned around to see Shadow standing there, while Jamal rushed over to his side.

_[Stop Music]_

"I should've known you'd be here, Shadow." Seraph said, giving a calculating stare to Shadow. "What do you want with me?"

Shadow laughed heartily as he heard what Seraph said. "It's not what I want with you, Seraph." He specified. "It's what I want with _Tails._"

Both Seraph and Fiona flinched as he said the name. As a reminder of Tails, Seraph felt over his blackened eye, remembering that he couldn't see through it. "You mean the Tails that did _this _to me?" He asked while pointing to his eye.

Shadow nodded. "I suggest that you and Fiona leave, Jamal." He told his subordinate, who hastily returned to the Zeppelin via jetpack. Seraph also waved off Fiona, signaling for her to go back with the others.

"I won't come with you Shadow."

Shadow smirked and narrowed his red eyes at the fox. "Not willingly, you won't."

_[Now Playing: __**"Duality" by: Slipknot**__]_

Seraph lunged at Shadow with a kick to start things off, but Shadow simply grabbed his foot and twisted the kit to the ground. He rolled over, getting back on his feet and preparing himself for anything Shadow would throw.

Seraph swiftly put up a block for an incoming punch from Shadow, only to get a chuckle from the black hedgehog. "Predictable as ever," Shadow mocked while kicking at Seraph's knees.

For a moment, Seraph seemed to float in the air as he fell. He would've fallen to the ground had Shadow not grabbed the scruff of his chest and thrown him into the air. "Let's see you dance, fox!" He shouted while pulling out his green Chaos Emerald, "CHAOS FLUX!"

While Seraph had flown in the air, he started rotating his tails to keep him suspended. He looked down to see Shadow conjuring several portals of swirling yellow light. The portals then began firing multiple chaos spears at him, like machine guns. Seraph swerved through the lances of yellow light as he tried to avoid Shadow's constant barrage.

He was then scathed by a single spear that seared one of his tails, causing him to lose his concentration and he fell to the ground. Shadow was quickly upon him, and almost stomped Seraph into the ground, but he rolled to the side and flipped up, kicking Shadow underneath his chin and sending him into the air.

Seraph jumped after him and appeared beneath him in Shadow's arc of flight. Seraph twisted his body and attempted to kick Shadow on the side, but he put up a block. Then, using his hand, Seraph twisted Shadow's body in the other direction and kicked the other side, making contact and causing Shadow to gasp slightly.

He then grabbed Shadow's head in mid-flight and sent him careening toward the ground. As Shadow hit the ground, he looked above him in confusion to see the kitsune flipping as he came down. Seraph then flipped violently sideways as he neared the ground and connected an earth shaking axe kick to Shadow's chest, causing the black hedgehog to cough up a bit of blood as a small crater formed beneath him.

"Very good, Seraph." He muttered as blood dripped from his lips. He was still able to stand by some miracle, which Seraph thought might've been possible only because of his Chaos Emerald. "But, I'm not done yet."

Shadow held up his chaos emerald and muttered, "Chaos Regeneration," causing him to glow with green energy as his broken bones and ruptured organs healed up.

Seraph growled, figuring that he would now have to start from scratch to beat him. Shadow then started rubbing his middle finger and thumb together, seemingly in thought. He then snapped his fingers, accompanying it with the words, "CHAOS MAGIC!" Seraph dove to the side as space suddenly collapsed in the area, exploding violently.

He continued to run, trying hard to avoid Shadow's abuse of Chaos Magic, but failing ultimately. A final blast caught him and he tripped, but rolled over and back into a standing position. He realized that his only hope to beat Shadow would be to remove the Chaos Emerald from his possession, but that was easier said than done.

He tried for a frontal assault, rushing toward Shadow with fist aimed at his head. As he expected, Shadow kept his emerald in his hands when he put up the guard and he latched onto it, attempting to pull it out of his grasp.

The two struggled over the powerful gem before Shadow became irritated with him and began glowing with an ominous red energy. Shadow ripped the emerald from Seraphs grasp and began floating, with a red orb forming around him. "**CHAOS BLAST!**" he shouted, letting loose a powerful explosion straight from his body that launched Seraph in the opposite direction. His body attained many burns and scathes as a result, but he stood nonetheless.

Not giving Shadow time to recover, he quickly kicked toward him, but he merely parried to the side of it. Shadow then took the leg and flipped Seraph over him, attempting to smash him into the ground, but failing as Seraph planted his hands on the ground and flipping Shadow over him.

Shadow flew into the air straight up, with Seraph directly below him. Unable to maintain his balance on two hands, Seraph had fallen on his back and was not quick enough to dodge what had happened next.

Shadow suddenly began diving back down toward Seraph, thrusting a punch forward just as he neared the ground. The result was that Seraph's eyes almost rolled back into his head from the pain and blood gushed from his mouth at the intense attack.

After Shadow got off of him, he crawled to a stand and lent up against a tree for momentary support. "You can't beat me, Seraph." Shadow mocked him, standing completely unharmed. He chaos controlled next to Seraph and kicked down on his knee, bending it in a direction that was surely unnatural.

He gasped in pain as he felt his bone puncture through his skin. He growled under the pain as he struggled to stand. "Come at me, you insufferab…"

He was interrupted by a punch to the jaw, keeping him from finishing the sentence. "Face it, Seraph," Shadow declared, looking down on the fox. "I've won, and no amount of help can save you now."

They remained in silence while Seraph smirked knowingly. "How much do you want to bet?"

Shadow was about to question the statement before he was kicked in the side by Bunnie's metallic leg. "Did ah miss somethin', or were ya' 'bout to finish him off?" She mocked him in her traditional drawl.

The rest of Seraph's companions soon came, as well as the remaining Freedom Fighters, forming a circle around the maimed Seraph. "We don't appreciate you talking Seraph down." Disturbed said, waging his finger back and forth. "That's _my _job."

"Yeah!" Shifter shouted. "Pick on someone your own size."

Shadow rolled his eyes at that comment. "Yes… _true originality _right there." He stated, he voice dripping with sarcasm.

Shadow then stood and backed up, floating in the air with the power of his Chaos Emerald. He then unfurled his quills and released the other six emeralds, each with their own respective colors. They all whizzed around him at incomprehensible speeds till a loud and powerful shockwave was released and Shadow had turned golden, aside from his red spines.

"I gave you a chance, Seraph." He muttered while rising higher into the evening sky. "But, you give me no other choice!"

They all stood up, trying to discern what Shadow was doing. Quickly, Shifter healed Seraph using the power of the Sol Emerald and he flew up to Shadow's level. "Your light show's pretty interesting, Shadow." He commented, "But, you don't faze me!"

He swore he caught a glimpse of a tear on Shadow's cheek when he reopened hi eyes. "Sorry, Tails…"

Seraph once again widened his eyes. "Wait, WHAT?"

Shadow held out his hand and the yellow Chaos Emerald reappeared in his hands. He then flipped and axe kicked Seraph into the ground while letting the yellow emerald float down. Seraph's companions swarmed him to see if he was okay, finding that he was fine thanks to the yellow emerald hovering above his chest.

However, it was all in vain.

"_**CHAOS INCARCERATION!" **_Shadow declared, sending a single beam of piercing white light down into Seraph, through the emerald.

Almost instantly, Seraph felt as though he were being ripped apart from the inside. Many ancient looking seals appeared from nowhere and hovered between the fox and the emerald. Beams of shining light passed between the emerald and Seraph as droplets of blue light exited his body through his mouth and eyes.

Seraph let out one final piercing scream before his body float back to earth and the Chaos Emerald returned to Shadow. With nothing else left to be done, Shadow vanished in a blip of light.

_[Stop Music]_

Fiona knelt down as Seraph's body slowly floated back toward the ground. When he was finally within arm's reach, she held out her arms and let him slowly settle. With all the bright light before she hadn't noticed till now… that his fur had turned ghost white.

"No…" she whispered, with tears dripping from her eyes. She hung her head low and began crying hysterically. Everyone else also gave their respects, bowing their heads low so that their own tears were hidden. Disturbed simply turned away, not wanting anyone to see his weakness.

All was lost now…

There was no hope…


	14. Chapter 14

**AN: For those of you who've been waiting for answers, I hope this chapter will clear a lot of that up for you.**

**Disclaimer: I don't claim or own anything from Sega, Archie, or Yu-Gi-Oh! Also, Disturbed, Shifter, and Hunter are all owned by Nobel Six**

**Claimer: I own this plot, and original characters unaffiliated with Nobel Six**

* * *

><p>Unknown location<p>

July-20-4286

18:15 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"The Unforgiven" by: Metallica**__]_

_Am I dead? All that's around me is this darkness? Not even nighttime is this black, so I must be dead… right? Wait a second… there's a light in the distance. Where's it coming from? I don't see a source, and it's not giving off any heat… _

The kitsune fluttered his eyes open to see his reflection everywhere. He was confused as he groggily stood up, boggled by his many copies. He walked toward one of his copies and soon found that he couldn't travel any further, since there was some kind of barrier blocking his way.

"I don't suppose Tails will come out of nowhere and explain this all to me, will he?" Seraph mused while continuing to pace across his confined area.

"I think that I will."

Seraph turned around, expecting an enemy, but only finding Tails. The kit stood before him with a look of solemnity upon him. "I'm sorry this had to happen to you, Seraph."

Seraph sighed, sliding down an invisible wall of his cell. He gripped his head in his hands and began to shake. Tails could've sworn he saw tears, but he didn't say anything. "I'm dead, aren't I Tails?" Seraph muttered, shivering all the while.

Tails shrugged and looked away. "Not necessarily," He cryptically muttered. Seraph seemed to be angered by this as he stood up quickly and pinned Tails to the wall and growled.

"Alright Tails, spill it," He demanded. "Who are you, and am I really dead?"

Tails glared right back at Seraph, refusing to say anything. When Seraph saw he wasn't getting anywhere, he let go of his counterpart and backed away. "Thank you." Tails said, before explaining, "Since you're physical body is no longer active, it's safe to tell you, I guess."

Seraph raised an eyebrow but refused to question. "You wonder why I always try referring to myself as first, Seraph? It's because I'm the original. You are my clone, that was made to complete Shadow's requests and for possible use in exchanges."

Seraph eyes seemed to glaze over as he sat back down in response. "I'm… a clone?"

Tails nodded; continuing, "Your DNA is mostly comprised of my information, but you also have the biological data of another… guess who?"

Seraph thought back to his many encounters with others, when one experience came to his mind immediately.

**[FLASHBACK]**

Seraph stood in front of Fiona, having caught Shadow's punch with his shaky hand. Shadow smirked once more, gazing at Seraph with an odd expression. "Still standing, huh? You're so much more like me than I anticipated."

_What's that supposed to mean? _The twin tailed fox thought as they stood in a lull of silence.

**[END FLASHBACK]**

"It's Shadow's, isn't it?" Seraph answered as the moment played itself over and over in his head.

With a look of reluctance, Tails nodded. "Shadow infused some of his DNA into your system, hoping to give you chaos powers… but that ultimately failed. Now, do you know where we are now?"

_What kind of question is that? _Seraph thought as he looked around. Now that he took a second glance at the force field that held him captive, he noticed that it had a distinctive yellow tint to it. He turned toward the nearest wall and knocked on it, receiving a sound that was similar to –but not exactly like –glass.

He then remembered the last moments of his supposed death, where the last things he saw were a blinding beam of light and…

"We're inside of the yellow Chaos Emerald… aren't we?" Seraph stated with sad realization.

"Very good, Seraph," Tails commended his while feeling the crystal interior of emerald. "The small blip of light inside of chaos emeralds is actually the entrance to pocket dimensions, where anything is within the power of your mind, besides escape."

In an instant, a small silver platter appeared with two cups on it. Tails took one of the cups while Seraph took the other and they both took a sip. Seraph immediately scrunched his brow at the taste. "Hot cocoa with mint extract?"

Tails chuckled slightly. "Yeah, I didn't think I'd like it as much either, until I tried it." He mused while continuing to guzzle down his drink.

Seraph looked at the cup oddly before taking another sip. It felt real… "So, I can create anything in the dimension…"

"Except a means of escape," Tails finished for him, causing Seraph to drag out another sigh. "You're stuck in here until someone else pulls you out."

Seraph looked around, at his many reflections, and then at Tails. "You were saying?"

"Oh," Tails muttered, before continuing his explanation. "You see, Shadow was able to trap you in here because he pulled your soul out of your original body."

"But, I'm a clone!" Seraph argued, "I thought I couldn't have a soul because I was artificial."

Tails wagged his finger and smirked lightly. "Well Seraph, everything needs a soul to live. Shadow's artificial too, but he was given a soul by the Chaos Emeralds."

Seraph scratched at his chin as he thought over this new information. "So… does my soul come from a Chaos Emerald too?"

Tails shook his head and gripped Seraph's left shoulder firmly. "Actually, you only have half of a soul, which is the reason you can't use the chaos powers that Shadow gifted you."

Seraph gripped Tails' shoulder back, starting to figure things out. "So, does that make you my other half?"

"Indeed, it does!" Tails exclaimed, finally having gotten to the point he wanted to discuss with his long ago. "The reason I can communicate with you, even though you're in this other dimension, is because you're my other half. Shadow is currently holding my physical body dormant in a stasis pod, in his personal quarters."

Seraph, now with the realization that he was only a spirit, now had to ask, "Does that mean my physical body is… dead?"

Tails solemnly nodded, returning to his pacing about the crystal prison. "Your body has been stripped of its soul, and it is slowly draining of life. However, I think Shadow has different plans than to simply keep you here for eternity."

Seraph raised his eyebrow and said, "If that's so, then what's Shadow's big plan? He couldn't resurrect us, could he?"

Tails closed his eyes momentarily in thought on the subject before snapping them open; an all-knowing aura could be felt emanating from him. "You're mistaken… he can resurrect _me, _not you."

"Why not?" Seraph wondered aloud. An almost alarmed quiver started generating in his eyes. "Will I just… cease to exist?"

At this concern, Tails had a great laugh. Seraph seemed peeved at his other half before Tails calmed down and explained, "No Seraph, I mean you won't have a body. Since your body is no longer considered _alive, _if we were resurrected, your soul would recombine with mine since my body is the only one compatible. We'd simply coexist in one body, with me being the more primary sentience."

They remained in a short silence afterward, pondering over what would happen to themselves and the other. Seraph looked around and sighed. He needed to know…

"Tails, tell me about your… _our _life."

Tails looked back at Seraph and nodded. "We have time, so I'll start from the beginning…"

Tails went on and explained that Sally and Sonic had found him abandoned in the Great Forest, near the beginning of the war. At the time, had been a newborn and Sonic and Sally were six years of age. After that, they had taken care of Tails till he was eight, at which age he opted for living by himself. He drifted toward the area of mechanics and showed great potential to his mentor, Rotor Walrus.

Once he turned ten, Tails had been given his first stealth mission as a Freedom Fighter, and he completed it admirably. This mission was an investigation of the electromagnetic anomaly that Sally had recently picked up, which lead to the discovery of Robotnik's control method, and later to his demise.

However, before all of that happened, once Tails had completed his mission, the Freedom Fighters threw a huge party for the induction of their new operative. He was also given another mission later, which was to investigate the southeastern peninsula, where he met Fiona for the first time. Shortly thereafter, she betrayed the Freedom Fighters. "It's nice to know that's she's giving us a second chance, though." Tails muttered, while deep in memory.

On the day he turned twelve, he had already shown great aptitude in all of his assignments, and he was admitted into the band of original Freedom Fighters, who took on the most dangerous missions.

His first mission with them was his last. Tails, Bunnie, Sonic, Sally, and Antoine had infiltrated Robotnik's headquarters. They were soon to complete their object when the worst had happened.

An ambush.

Robots seemed to flood in from nowhere in the halls as they rushed throughout the HQ. When they finally went to the roof of the building to intercept a few recordings and messages from satellites, Tails had been sniped in the shoulder.

"… and you know the rest," Tails ended. "I was put in stasis while you were created as a copy."

They once again entered a momentary silence until a blinding light appeared in the midst of their room. They both cried out in shock as the light soon enveloped the room, and them.

Then, there was darkness.

"_**CHAOS REANIMATION!"**_

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

**~ (**_"Death is naught but the passing into the afterlife and rebirth." –__**Syaoron the Fox**_**) ~**

_**[**__Now Playing: __**"Eruption" by: Van Halen**__]_

…_**Syaoron the Fox presents…**_

…_**Using Material from Archie and Sega…**_

…_**As Well as Various Music and Themes…**_

_**RESURGENCE**_

_**Chapter 14**_

_**The Final Pillar of Hope**_

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Outskirts of the Great Forest

July-20-4286

18:15 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"Who's Crying Now" by: Journey**__]_

They simply stood there.

It just couldn't be; he couldn't really be gone. Yet here he was… in her arms. Fiona stared down at Seraph's body as the fur slowly whitened. She felt tears roll down her face at the sight of him. He was dead… DEAD! And she was completely devastated.

Sonic looked down on the body, and he too could feel tears welling up in his eyes. He refused to cry however, and remained strong. Sally was already crying unto his shoulder, and he simply turned away from the body.

Disturbed and Shifter –now in his default wolf form –refused to hide their emotions. Off in the distance, the two could be heard shouting blasphemies toward God in the rage of a thousand protestors. "WHY GOD?" Disturbed continued to shout as he knelt and banged his fist on the grounds. "WHY DID YOU TAKE AWAY ONE OF MY ONLY FRIENDS?"

Bunnie and Antoine were still in shock, while Rotor was still unaware and hiding with the other villagers. "How could this happen?" Bunnie muttered, depressed by the entire event. "Why did he have ta die?"

Antoine could only caress her shoulder as she began crying silent tears. "There are things zat we cannot control, Bunnie. We can only hope zat zere ees a better tomorrow."

Fiona however, had tuned all of their talking out. She said nothing as she knelt with Seraph's white body in her hands. She shook as tears flowed constantly down her cheek. What had happened?

He had been with them, just minutes ago… where did he go? Where did all their time together go? She never even got to tell him…

"No, please don't go." She muttered. Her words seemed to quiet everyone, as she spoke them with fear and sadness. "DON'T LEAVE ME!" she shouted, as if she thought it would bring him back. "Don't go, not when I need you most! Please, you can't die! I love you Seraph; please don't leave me!"

"Fiona!"

The red vixen looked up through teary eyes to see Shifter standing over her, with his own eyes watering up. He sighed and knelt down to her, give her a soft hug. "There's nothing you can do. He's long gone."

She looked into Shifter's eyes and found only truth, and defeat. "Shifter…"

"Call me Metatron, please."

She stuttered before clearing her throat. "Okay… Metatron, is this how it felt to lose Auriel?"

Shifter glanced down to the ghost white kitsune in Fiona's arms, and he saw another illusion. The violet vixen he knew as Auriel now took Seraph's place. However, her body was littered with lacerations and fresh blood.

The dreadful day came back to him, when Hunter tore into her heart and practically crushed it in his metallic grip. He could still envision the blood covering Hunter's cold hand of steel as he cackled with glee.

Shifter turned away from Seraph's body, tears streaming down his face. "Yes," He meekly answered. "When she died, I was consumed with grief and anger. I can only assume that you're feeling the same thing now. I'm sorry that I couldn't protect him."

Fiona looked back down on Seraph's blanched body and she could feel the tears welling up again and her throat felt closed off. She hugged his body closer, clenching it to relieve her sadness.

"You really loved him, didn't you?" Sonic said. Fiona looked back to find Sally still crying onto his shoulder, and he was holding her close.

She ran her fingers through Seraph's fur and she felt her entire body grow weak. "Yes…" She shakily replied. She then attempted to stand, albeit slightly off balance with Seraph in her arms. "I'm going to bring him home," She declared, "He wouldn't want me to leave him in the dark."

She then slowly walked back home, slowly followed by the others. Shifter nudged her arm on the way and asked, "Are you going to be okay?"

Fiona thought about that. Was she going to be okay? Some people are traumatized by these events, but… "I think… I think I'll be fine, Metatron." She responded, stretching her lips for a small smile, even if it was a simple façade.

They walked backed to the village, with low morale and heavy hearts.

_[Stop Music]_

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Freelancer Zeppelin

July-21-4286

12:37 Mobius Time

_Detainment level Delta; Block J-15; Cell 49-B. Welcome back Director Shadow._

The black hedgehog stepped into a dank, large stone room. Removing his hood for more ventilation revealed the red streaks running down his spines. He chuckled, looking up toward the wall in front of him.

The dim light that poured in from the night through nearby windows was hardly enough to uncover a yellow kitsune that was chained to the wall. His twin tails seemed to flicker when Shadow took another step forward. Shadow smirked and gave the kitsune a once over. "I didn't think you'd recover so quickly from having been in stasis for these many months… Tails."

The kitsune looked up and opened his eyes, the blue irises giving off a distinct gleam of youth while he gave a glare towards Shadow. "Why am I here, Shadow?"

Shadow lent up against the wall right next to Tails, as if to taunt him. He then answered, "Why, we're waiting for your other half, of course."

Tails was somewhat confused before he remembered. _Seraph! _He thought with concern while darting his eyes back and forth, looking for his clone. It was only when he thought that Seraph was elsewhere that he remembered their conversation in the emerald.

Tails' eyes widened and the pupil contracted suddenly as he felt a piercing pain enter his body. It was as though his entire being was being ripped to shreds, and pieced back together, only to be torn apart once more. He could feel his eyes tear up, but when his vision became red, he figured that he was crying blood.

He could no longer control himself and let out an ear splitting screech that could be heard throughout the entire prison block. Shadow, however, was unfazed by the scream and seemed almost… pleased. "Ah, I'll have to notate that recombining the soul is more painful than dividing it." He sarcastically remarked, enjoying the sight of science in motion.

When Tails' screams finally died down, he had closed his eyes. Tired from the shouting and exhausted from the pain, he let his head hang. His breathing was slow and dilapidated, with the deliberated rise and fall of his chest.

At this point, Shadow returned to a more serious, even worried, mood. "Are you okay, Tails? Can you hear me?" He asked.

There was a short silence, in which Shadow wondered if the recombination had killed him. That was, until Tails raised his head and opened his eyes. While the blood stopped flowing from them, he noticed that his irises had turned to a ghostly grey, than to the colors of red and blue that he'd expected.

_Are you okay in there? _Tails thought, knowing who was in his mind.

_**Geez, the transfer could've been a little less painful than that, **_Seraph remarked.

Tails then refocused his gaze on Shadow and glared. "Now answer me. Why do you have me chained up here?"

Shadow turned away from Tails, seeming to find sudden interest in the steel floor. He was wracking his mind about why he had him here. He liked the kit, but never did he think he'd have to resort to this.

"I want information, Tails." He answered, returning to glare at Tails. "One way or another, you are going to give it to me."

_[Now Playing: __**"Saving Us" by: Serj Tankien**__]_

Tails smirked and shook a little in his chains to mock him. "What are you going to do to me, Shadow? Any information you want, I won't give to you."

"You better watch that tongue of yours, fox." Shadow threatened, pointing a decisive finger at Tails. "I can do things to you that will leave scars on your mind for years to come."

"And that's supposed to scare me?"

The black hedgehog then growled. Now this kid was trying to goad him into torturing him… _He must be masochistic, _Shadow thought while smiling sinisterly at Tails. "Alright kit, have it your way."

_What do you think he's got up his sleeve, Seraph? _Tails asked inwardly.

Seraph seemed to be pondering this over in the back of his mind. _**I'm not sure, Tails. Whatever it is though, it's bound to be bad.**_

_You think it's something we can't handle?_

_**That kinda depends on whatever he has in store.**_

Shadow saw the concentration in Tails' face and nodded, examining him closer for good measure. "I see that you've already regained communication with your double."

Tails gave him a blank stare. "You're stalling, Shadow," He cooed impatiently. Whatever was going to happen, he wanted to know about it rather than be kept in the dark.

A vein seemed to pulse on Shadow's forehead as he returned a deep glare to Tails. "FINE THEN!"

Without warning, Shadow pulled a small dagger out of his pocket and threw it at Tails' left shoulder. He winced in pain as the knife pierced through his flesh ad went out the other side, pinning him closer to the wall.

Shadow continued to throw these daggers at Tails, each bringing a new wave of piercing pain, until he had knives puncturing his shoulders, hands, thighs, and feet. He could feel the blood slowly drip from all of the wounds as he looked back up at Shadow. Throughout the process, he remained silent. "Not going to talk, are you?" Shadow mused while balancing a final knife on his finger.

Tails shook his head, preparing for whatever came next. Shadow then threw the final knife perfectly into his stomach, and blood began to spew from the wound as Tails let out a shocked gasp. "Now riddle me this, Tails," Shadow spoke in a demanding tone. "I want to know where every last Freedom Fighter encampment is. Answer me correctly, and I may not have to torture you."

Tails froze up. Knothole, of course, wasn't the _only _village where Freedom Fighters reigned. There were probably hundreds of smaller domains where the Freedom Fighters –though their numbers are few –hold sovereignty. To reveal _any _of these locations was considered an act of treason of the highest degree, and was punished severely.

"I'm telling you nothing about nothing, Shadow!" He rebelled with confidence. Even through his grey irises, Shadow could sense a fiery rage within him.

With a curt nod, Shadow raised a green Chaos Emerald that he kept in the pocket of his cloak. "CHAOS LIGHTNING!" he shouted, summoning massive bolts of electricity that trained themselves on Tails because of the knives in his body.

The burning sensation felt like a pain he'd never experienced, and it was even more intense around his wounds, thanks to the daggers. It shot through his body and he began to writhe in his chains, moaning and screaming in pain. The pain of thousands of stabs coursed in his body as his mind almost shut down from the immense pain.

And then, when he thought it would never end, the lightning stopped flowing as suddenly as it had started. The excess electricity could still be felt in his body as he continued to twitch uncontrollably. Real tears finally streamed from his eyes as the torture continued even after it had ended.

Shadow walked toward his twitching body and held his head firm so that he could dictate all of his control over him. "Now, will you tell me, or do I have to continue?"

It took all of Tails' will to remain quiet and not spill all of that valuable information. _**Just stay calm, Tails, **_Seraph advised, talking him through the torture. _**As long as you keep calm, we can try to find a way to escape.**_

Tails sighed and let his eyes drop to the floor. _You make it seem like this is going to be easy._

_**That's not what I said.**_

Shadow continued to pace the room, seeing if Tails would give him any of the info he wanted. When he realized that he would just keep silent, Shadow walked back toward Tails and grabbed the knife in his stomach, causing the kit to wince. Tails prayed that he would be pulling it out… but life is full of disappointments.

Shadow simply pushed on the knife and twisted it into the wound, causing more blood gush from the laceration. Tails gagged and coughed up blood as the pain ruptured inside of him again. The black hedgehog then pulled out a small box and took from it a single match stick. Scraping the match against the box, it went alight with fire.

Shadow then shifted the knife in his stomach to the side a bit and inserted the match into it. Almost immediately, Tails erupted into a fit of shouts as his innards began burning up from the intense heat. What kind of sick pleasure Shadow got from this, he couldn't imagine. He could only focus on the pain he was receiving as he futilely tried to ignore it.

After Shadow thought he'd had enough, he removed the match from Tails' stomach wound and gave him a single minute for reprieve. Then, he unleashed more bolts of lightning from his Chaos Emerald unto the kit, causing his body to shudder violently with the electricity.

After Shadow finally let up on the lightning, Tails' body sagged, as though he were on the edge of consciousness. Through the bleak vision that Tails still had, he could see Shadow turning away, looking as though he had failed at mission. He banged his fist against a wall, but the noise sounded dull in Tails' ears. For a moment he thought he saw a tear drop from Shadow's eye as he exited the room.

Tails was left alone, in his dank cell, with nothing more than the moonlight to shine down on him. With his will failing, he finally let the darkness take him…


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: Here it is, folks! Another chapter, just for you! **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Sega, Archie, or Yu-Gi-Oh! Disturbed, Shifter, and Hunter are all property of "Nobel Six".**

**Claimer: I own this plot and all original characters not affiliated with "Nobel Six".**

* * *

><p>Unknown Location<p>

July-21-4286

14:24 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"Imagine" by: John Lennon**__]_

He had woken up; expecting to feel cold shackles on his wrists and ankles. He thought he'd see Shadow's menacing glare piercing him. He didn't expect to be in a place that felt so… warm.

Rather than the cell he had been put in, he woke up in a white space, and he assumed it was a dream. Next to him, relaxing in a chair, was Seraph. "Why are all of our dreams just these white spaces," He wondered aloud, waiting for a response from his double.

Seraph thought about the question when he noticed a grey fog surrounding them. He then gave a small chuckle. "It's funny. You're so intelligent and earth bound, but I'm a bit philosophical. We're the same, but we're nearly polar opposites."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Tails questioned, but Seraph had just returned to gazing at the ceiling.

"… I think we're in a bridge," He finally answered. He got up and paced the area, taking in the scent of the fog, which smelt of scented candles, "a bridge between our life and the afterlife."

"That would be right!"

The two halves swiftly turned around to face a vixen with three large bangs and flowing hair, the same color as her lavender fur. She wore a black, sleeveless coat over her blue sweater. Her black pants shook slightly as she tapped her black-booted foot. "I was wondering when I'd finally be able to talk with you guys!" She remarked with a wink, a small glimmer appearing in her green eyes.

Tails glanced skeptically at her and cocked his head to the side. _If we're in a bridge between life and death…_ "So you're Auriel, if understand this correctly?" Tails asked. Auriel simply nodded in response.

"That's me!" She brightly confirmed while pacing circles around them. "And how would you two happen to know about me?"

Seraph smirked and answered, "We happen to have a friend by the name of Metatron."

Her expression seemed to darken when Seraph brought him up. She was aware that he had seen her in her last moments of life, and she could only imagine how he felt. "Is that so?" She replied after the pause, "How's he doing?"

Tails and Seraph looked at one another before the former said, "The last time we saw him, he was actually feeling pretty happy."

"Is that so…" She murmured, sitting down on the floor. "And, what about Disturbed?"

Seraph raised an eyebrow, but decided not to question. "Disturbed is fine, but I'm not so sure about either of them now that we're not there."

He thought he saw Auriel sharply inhale, but he wasn't sure as she immediately calmed down. "Well, when you get back, could you tell Metatron _'death is timeless'_? He'll know what it means." She requested as her body began to fade.

"Wait, Auriel!" Tails shouted futilely, only to watch her disappear. "Why did she have to leave so suddenly?"

"We're waking up, Tails." Seraph explained, noting that the entire room was slowly turning black. "We can only commune with the dead in our sleep."

"But how come we can commune with the dead in the first place?" Tails wondered, shrugging his shoulders to Seraph, who was also thinking about that. How could they be both dead and alive?

He never finished the question as the entire room blacked out.

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

**~ (**_"Maybe, if we met in a different time and place, we could've been friends." –__**Naruto Uzumaki**_**) ~**

_**[**__Now Playing: __**"Eruption" by: Van Halen**__]_

…_**Syaoron the Fox presents…**_

…_**Using Material from Archie and Sega…**_

…_**As Well as Various Music and Themes…**_

_**RESURGENCE**_

_**Chapter 15**_

_**Breakout**_

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Freelancer Infirmary

July-21-4286

15:33 Mobius Time

A tear ran down the side of Maria's face as she sat at Tails' bedside. It was one thing for Shadow to kill him for the betterment of Mobotropolis, but to torture him… she sniffled with sadness as she ran her fingers through his bangs. "Why did you do it, Shadow?" She asked, as if hoping someone would hear her, though she was alone. It was just her, Tails, and the room.

Of course, once Shadow had used Chaos Regeneration, Tails looked good as new, but she knew he would just be tortured again. "Why did it have to come to this?" She whispered once more, dabbing his head with a wet rag.

What was she going to do? Bide her time while Tails was tortured for information, probably to be scarred for life? She set a firm glance on the door behind her and made her decision. She heard mumbling from behind him and saw that Tails was beginning to wake up.

His vision was blurry, and he couldn't see or feel much but the bed below him and the hand on his forehead. "Ugh, Fiona? Is that you?" he muttered, his voice nearly incomprehensible from the quietness.

"No, I'm not Fiona," Maria replied sadly, watching as Tails' eyes flickered open. "You've been unconscious for a couple hours Miles, but you'll be fine."

Maria frowned at the sight of his grey eyes, knowing that the color was never going to come back and he'd forever be left with these dull, lifeless irises. Tails turned his head to either side and groaned, "Where am I?"

"You're onboard the Freelancer Zeppelin," She answered. Turning to a nearby faucet, she dribbled water onto the rag before dabbing Tails' head again. "This is the infirmary. Shadow did a number on you in that cell."

The kitsune, now fully aware of his surroundings, swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. "I suppose you're not allowed to let me leave?" He assumed, receiving frantic shake of the head from the human.

"No, I disapprove of Shadow's actions toward you." She said, "I want you to escape."

Tails gave her a look that would suggest she was crazy. Why would she go behind Shadow's back to do this? Tails was skeptical of course, and asked, "What's you name anyway?"

"I'm Maria."

"Okay Maria…" he faded off before he figured out what to ask next, "Why do you work with Shadow if you don't like the things he does?"

She seemed mildly shocked by the question and dug her hand into a pocket of her dress, pulling out a small golden ring, just large enough to snap onto one's wrist. "Because, he saved my life," She answered, pocketing the ring once again before motioning to the door. "Go to the hanger and grab your plane… Shadow at least had the decency to get one of your possessions for you."

_**Wait, we have a plane? **_Seraph asked. He had never heard of this plane.

_Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, _Tails explained, _When I was younger, I built a plane called 'The Tornado'. I was actually wondering where it went…_

"Thanks for all your help Maria," Tails said, giving a wave in her direction. "I hope this doesn't get you in any trouble with Shadow."

She shook her head. "What he doesn't know won't hurt me."

With that said, Tails bolted out of the room.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Great Forest

July-21-4286

15:33 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by: Green Day**__]_

In the high time of the afternoon, a large migration of Mobians could be seen in the large forest. With their homes ravaged and discovered, they were forced to relocate to one of the other Freedom Fighter locations.

Sonic was one of the most downcast. He was leaving so many things behind; the fallen soldiers; all his good times… The only thing he was able to bring personally was their power stone.

The power stone sat in the basin of the Ring Pool. When hooked up to his uncle's machine, it could produce the Power Rings that have saved the blue speed demon so many times in his Robotropolis escapades. However, with the migration imminent, they were forced to leave the machine behind and would have to construct a new one later, if possible.

Aside from the Power Stone, which he kept in his pack, Sonic also brought the essentials, such as basic food and water, which everyone else also had.

Sally kept Nicole out in her hand, tracking the location of the nearest Freedom Fighter settlement. Though saddened by these recent mishaps, she was forced to stay strong for her people. She held up her hand as she heard a suspicious noise, and all of the settlers ducked for cover.

Out of the nearby bushes came a moose, with a solemn look on his face. He gave them a beckoning wave and Sally nodded, standing up and giving the okay to the others. "Okay guys," Sally said as they started walking forward one more. "This is Grif, one of the Freedom Fighters of Lower Mobius. He's going to lead us to safety."

Lower Mobius was one of the lesser known settlements of Freedom Fighters, seeing as their city was built underground. Even more surprising, was that it was directly beneath Robotropolis, making it one of the last places one would look for a city.

After a little more exploring through the forest, they came to a cliff side with a single large drainage pipe protruding. "Alright everyone!" Grif spoke, addressing all of the immigrants. "This tunnel will lead into Lower Mobius! We already have others waiting inside to guide you, so please make haste!"

One by one, the fugitives from Knothole clambered into the pipe that would hopefully lead them to peace. Grif watched them, seeing their faces of depression and weariness. No doubt, some were on the verge of giving up.

The moose then held out his hand to the red vixen at the end of the line and was surprised. If he was not mistaken, this fox was the very same Fiona that had once betrayed them. However, these were desperate times, and he only walked in after her. He found interest in the body she was carrying, seeing a snow white fox with two tails in her arms. She worked hard not to get any grime on the body as she plodded through the sewer.

"Was he someone close to you?" He decided to ask, trying to make conversation with Fiona. She halted in her travels as she looked back down upon his body. She remembered the fear in his eyes as his life was sucked right out of him.

Clutching his body closer, she barely managed to mutter, "Yes…"

Grif was then shoved slightly by a figure he'd missed; a silver wolf, whose eyes sported a blue sclera and white irises that had wings outlined in grey. "She doesn't want to talk about it," He growled at the moose, turning away from him and leading Fiona along.

Grif stood there in silence, looking at the duo as they left along with the others. He noticed a black reptilian with arms of bone coming up from behind, telling him, "You shouldn't be digging into other peoples' business."

"Well, what do you expect me to do?" Grif countered, glaring back at the black reptile. "She's Fiona Fox! Last time I checked, she was a traitor."

The black reptile punched him lightly. "Things change," He simply said. "You can't just go around and try to know everything about everyone."

The reptile then walked back with the crowd, leaving Grif to wonder, _what did I do?_

_[Stop Music]_

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Freelancer Zeppelin

July-21-4286

15:41 Mobius Time

Tails sweated as he came to a spot he thought he passed several minutes ago. "Maybe I should've asked for directions after all?" He wondered aloud while passing through the halls, hoping he didn't run into any other Freelancers.

He was trying his hardest to be quiet when the door next to him burst open and he was slammed into the nearby wall. When he stumbled to his feet, he saw an odd figure in front of him. "HONEY, I'M HOME!"

It seemed to be some kind of orange echidna who wore a grey boots, a black cape, and grey gloves that were each embedded with a single crystal that was the same color as his golden eyes... all in all, this echidna stood before him as a mere oddity. "Well, hey there! Aren't you supposed to be bedridden?" the echidna spoke obnoxiously.

Tails however, was completely silenced by how spontaneous this echidna had acted. Was he part of the Freelancers? "Who are you?" Tails asked, pointing at the echidna and hoping he wouldn't just bound of somewhere.

"Oh, you are not of the knowledge of who I am?" the echidna replied. "Well then, allow myself to introduce me." Tails was about to point out the grammar misconception when a random fanfare of trumpets broke through the silence.

"I am the pleaser of crowds!" the echidna shouted while flaring out his arms into the air. "I've been seen but hardly heard! I am the laugher, the crier, the joker, the creator! I can sting like a butterfly and dance like a bee! I am the one; the only…"

All of a sudden, the trumpet fanfare faded to a low drum roll. "… XALDIN!" He shouted, and received a round of applause from nowhere.

Tails' eye twitched as his mind was blown. He had just witnessed the impossible, and then some. _Okay, either he did all of that, there are hidden speakers, or I was drugged in my sleep._

_**I think… he did all of that. **_Seraph responded on the inside. _**I don't know how that's possible… but it is somehow.**_

"Thank you, thank you everyone!" the echidna bowed. "It was so great; it left my greatest fan speechless!"

Tails quickly tackled the echidna and shushed him. "Shut up! You're going to get me caught!"

"Why fox boy, it's too soon!" the echidna mocked him, causing Tails to blush. "Don't you suppose we get a room before this gets serious?"

"What?" Tails almost shouted, though managing to keep his voice down. "N-no, that's not what I meant!"

"I suppose you're looking for the hanger." The echidna interrupted his stammering, though humorous he found it.

"How did you…"

"There are a lot of things I know, fox boy." The echidna cut him off, while seeming to ponder the directions. "Down this hall, take a left, then take the second right, and open the door marked 'H-15K'."

Tails stood back up in surprise that the echidna was able to give him such detailed directions. _I don't know Seraph; do you think we can trust this guy?_

_**It's kind of hard to tell. Just go with it since we've got no other lead.**_

"Thanks, Xaldin." Tails gave his brief thanks before rushing down the hall.

After he turned to corner, Xaldin dropped his happy expression and returned to one of utter seriousness. He pulled up his glove, revealing a secret wrist communicator. "Director, this is the Magician reporting in."

"Good, number one. Where is he?"

"He just passed me sir; he's heading for the hanger. Shall I stop him?"

"No need Magician, I'll handle this myself."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

As Tails neared the door to the hanger, he'd begun to think it was too easy. _I don't get it Seraph. Surely Shadow has some form of security on this ship._

_**You never know Tails. In situations like this, just do what I always do.**_

_And, what is that?_

_**Charge in, stay alive, and hope for the best.**_

Tails huffed in amusement. He was starting to sound like Sonic. He set his eyes firm on the door and slowly opened it so as not to disturb anyone who might be on the other side. His hope was in vain as he spotted Shadow, seeming to have been waiting for him. _And, now we're doomed, _Tails thought in defeat as he prepared for a fight.

"Dang; and I was _this _close too," Tails spoke to Shadow mockingly. "Well Shadow, come to drag me back to that hell that you call a holding cell?"

"You know me far too well, Tails." He replied before charging straight at the kitsune.

_[Now Playing: __**"In the End" by: Linkin Park**__]_

Shadow kicked low at Tails' legs, in hopes of tripping him up. He soon realized that it was a bad idea when Tails jumped over him and pummeled him with his twin tails.

Shadow rolled onto his feet after the impact and saw the kitsune throw a punch at him, which he caught in his hand and deflected toward the ground. Shadow then kneed the kitsune in his stomach and sharply kicked him in the side, sending Tails reeling.

The kit broke his fall by flipping backward and onto his feet, and barely missed a flying kick from Shadow as he sailed over head. Tails grabbed Shadow's outstretched leg and flung him against the nearby wall of the hanger, where he proceeded to beat the living daylights out of the hedgehog.

He thought that he'd given Shadow enough and backed off, only to see the hedgehog pull out a green Chaos emerald from his quills and heal his many wounds. "You can't beat me, Tails." Shadow declared, holding up the green gem. "As long as I have a Chaos Emerald, all your efforts are futile."

"Actions speak louder than words, Shads!" Tails shouted in retort, rushing in and aiming to backhand the hedgehog as a feint.

Shadow didn't take that bait, simply jumping over the potential blow and round kicking Tails in the head. At least, that was his hope, until the kitsune brought his other arm up for a block. The kit then back-flipped and propelled a kick into Shadow's chin, knocking him out of the air.

Shadow flipped, landed on his feet and hit the ground running. Tails barely saw him as he breezed by with a punch to the kit's gut. Tails keeled from the blow and knelt, clutching his stomach, before lying limp on the ground.

Shadow looked over him, figuring that he had fainted from fatigue, and picked him so he could be brought back to the cell. He was henceforth surprised when Tails wiggled out of his grasp and sucker punched him in the face. "It seems I've underestimated your endurance." Shadow observed, while getting back into a fighting stance.

"It sure seems that way." Tails remarked undauntedly while throwing a couple kicks at Shadow, which were quickly blocked. Shadow grabbed the leg which he'd blocked and aimed his other elbow at it, resulting in a significant crack.

He pushed Tails back down on to the ground, just to see if he could get up. When he saw the kit stumble on the ground a bit, biting his tongue to keep from screeching in pain, he chuckled. "You're no match for me Tails. Just face it and come quietly."

Tails then did something unexpected. Shadow watched as he pulled the yellow Chaos Emerald out from his tail fur and healed up his broken bone. "What?" Shadow shouted as he observed the emerald that Tails held, knowing that he used to have it with him. "How did you get that?"

"When you picked me up, thinking I was unconscious, and I writhed out of your hold." Tails answered, holding aloft the Chaos Emerald in pride. "I dug into your spines and felt for it."

Shadow narrowed his eyebrows and growled menacingly. _So, the kit can use chaos energy… _he thought, while opening up the possibilities of this. He then shook his head and rushed forward, knocking Tails back and releasing the emerald from his grasp.

He reached for the yellow emerald while it was in the air, and it remained just outside his reach as he juggled it slightly in his attempt to catch it. When he finally did attain the gem, Tails had gotten back up and tackled Shadow, both struggling with the emerald in their hands.

As each tried to rip the emerald from the other's hands, Shadow finally began his incantation, "Chaos…"

Before he could finish however, Tails caught on and spoke it as well, "Chaos…"

"**CONTROL!"**

The gem sparkled with an electric-like power, while the two continued to struggle over its mastery, unaware of the chain reaction they had just caused. Energy arced from the emerald, conforming around them and ripping away at the surrounding space. It seemed as though the Chaos Emerald could take no more of the struggle, and an explosion blew the two away while the emerald remained in its place.

Tails crawled to his feet, seeing scorch marks around the emerald, which floated in the air. When his blurry vision faded, and the ringing in his ears stopped, he saw a bolt of lightning shooting out from the emerald at him.

Without a second though, the kitsune dodged to the side as the space he was just in began to implode, before exploding violently. He noticed that these bolts were exploding in random directions, and he kept on his toes, dodging the streaks of forked light.

As the metal floors and walls began to scorch and smolder, Shadow decided that this had gone on for too long and he dashed in, toward the emerald. He swerved in and out of the exploding bolts, and he finally grabbed the yellow emerald, regaining control over it.

With the emerald finally under control, Shadow raised it in the air, shining its distinctive sheen, and shouted, "CHAOS CONTROL!" The surrounding environment immediately froze, to remain trapped in a time lapse until the black hedgehog allowed it.

_[Stop Music]_

He looked around at his environment, now frozen, and sighed. Was it so hard to condemn one child when the stability of the world was on the line? Apparently it was, and he was caught in a crossfire of emotions.

He looked at the grey irises of the kit who had once been his friend, and he shook his head, looking away to keep the old emotions from coming back. _What's the matter with me? _Shadow wondered while massaging his temple, _why can't I do this?_

He discarded these thoughts as he picked up Tails' frozen body and carried him back to the holding cell.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Northwestern Territories

July-21-4286

20:57 Mobius Time

A figure strode through the cold snow in the night, for winter didn't pause here, not even for summer. While it was a warm snow –for standards as far as snow goes –the chilly air was still not strong enough to faze the traveler.

In the faint moonlight, his armor let off a soft sheen, while his greaves clanked against rocks beneath the snow bank. His amethyst eyes were protected from the elements by a face mask that had slits for him to see through.

He was nearing his destination, and though Mother Nature may try, he would not be stopped. He hiked up the next hill, and caught the shimmer of lights in the distance, showing signs of civilization... more importantly, a Freedom Fighter establishment.

He glared down at the village, an evil smirk coming upon his face, though it wasn't visible through the armor. He imagined how peaceful they would be, lying in their welcoming beds, not having to worry about the weather outside.

This community was fine, though small. The resistance here was toughened to withstand the elements, giving all the others the ability to sleep without a form of gun under the bed. Tonight was like any other night for them; calm, unaltered, undisturbed, untarnished…

Tonight, blood would be spilt.


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: Here's a quick update for you! Also, I plan to be writing another story as well as this one, so updates may become less frequent.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Sega, Archie, or Yu-Gi-Oh! Disturbed, Shifter, and Hunter are property of Nobel Six.**

**Claimer: I own this plot and all original characters not affiliated with Nobel Six.**

* * *

><p>Wynn Village; Northwestern Territories<p>

July-21-4286

23:47 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing:__** "Falling Away From Me" by: Korn**__]_

In the dark of a brisk night, grey clouds hung overhead and snow began to fall down upon the land. The unique frozen crystals of ice slowly floated to the ground as wind whisked in the atmosphere. A single crystal fell upon a nearby building and was immediately melted from the fire burning upon it.

The entire village was in blazes, with only a single Mobian walking out of the building and into the streets; his cold, iron gauntlets stained with the blood of many. The only thing on his mind as he walked through the empty roads was mass genocide.

Hunter yawned from behind his mask. His most recent victim was most displeasing, the deceased zebra having killed himself before Hunter himself could snuff the life from him. He hoped that whatever stragglers remained in this village which he'd forsaken wouldn't throw their lives away. He liked to play the cat, as they were the helpless mice.

He twitched his head to the side, having heard a noise coming from a nearby house, and he grinned sadistically. As his metal greaves pounded against the wood of the floor boards, he made his way through the house and saw a rabbit sitting in the corner. She looked to be middle aged, cowering in the corner with a slight sniffle every now and then.

As Hunter crept upon her, she turned around and spotted him. "What are going to do to me?" She questioned him, only to be met with silence.

When he finally did speak, he reached up and grabbed the throat, "I'm going to do so many horrifying things to you; it could give grown men nightmares."

A scream of pain and a spurt of blood were the only two sounds heard after Hunter had made his ultimatum. He looked down at her body, ravaged in so many ways. There was blood leaking from all over, but mostly from five puncture wounds in her neck.

He shrugged and walked away, out of the house, and out of the village. He left everything in burning rubble, and all the villagers were mutilated beyond comprehension.

_Today begins the fall of the Freedom Fighters. Today, a small outlying village… Tomorrow, THE WORLD!_

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

**~ (**_"Sometimes, the coin won't land on heads or tails… Sometimes, it never comes down at all…" –__**Grimsely**_**) ~**

_**[**__Now Playing: __**"Eruption" by: Van Halen**__]_

…_**Syaoron the Fox presents…**_

…_**Using Material from Archie and Sega…**_

…_**As Well as Various Music and Themes…**_

_**RESURGENCE**_

_**Chapter 16**_

_**Breakout Part 2**_

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Unknown location

July-22-4286

8:15 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"Everything's Not Lost" by: Coldplay**__]_

Shifter snapped his eyes open, to find himself in a grey space. _Grey? _He wondered while taking a look around. _I thought dreams were white or black?_

"Well then Metatron, maybe it's not a dream at all."

He looked to his side and gasped, tears beginning to well up in his eyes. There, not two feet from him, stood the love of his life. Auriel appeared before him, unharmed. "Auriel, is that really you?" He questioned, taking a better look at her.

The lavender fox nodded slightly, rubbing his shoulder lightly. "It sure has been a while, eh Meta?" She asked, clinging to his arm for comfort. The two then decided to sit down in the grey space and talk. There was much to be discussed, of course.

"It really has been a while," he muttered, thinking about all that had passed. He thought about Seraph, and how crushed Fiona was feeling. He thought about how Knothole was lost and how they were forced to relocate to Lower Mobius. "Plenty of things have changed."

She nodded, thinking about the same things. "I've seen a lot from beyond, Metatron. I'm sorry about Seraph." She explained, twiddling her thumbs. She looked back up to Shifter to find that tears were dripping down his cheek.

Shifter shook his head, leaning on one arm as he pondered the recent events. "How's Seraph doing up there, Auriel?" He asked, concerned for his comrade, "You know, in heaven, I mean."

At this, Auriel chuckled. Oh, was he in for a shock. "Your friend's not up here, Metatron."

Shifter sputtered slightly. What could that mean? Could he still be… "Is he still alive?" He suggested, which Auriel jumped up at.

"Yes, he is!" She exclaimed, "Though not in the way you'll expect, he's still alive!"

He noticed that the surrounding environment was beginning to fade, and Auriel was floating away from him. "Wait, Auriel! What does this all mean? What do you mean _'not in the way we'd expect'_? What's going on?"

He never got an answer, and he woke up with a start. He jumped out of his bed and made his way around the room, thinking about the dream. _What if Seraph __**is**__ alive? What will this mean for Fiona? Will she even believe me? Will __**anyone **__believe me? _There were just some of the thoughts that ran through his mind as he opened the door of his small hut, going out into Lower Mobius.

He ran across the street, completely changed by this turn of events. He rapped his knuckles against the door repeatedly, when finally, Disturbed opened the door. "What do you want Metatron? It's eight in the morning; too early to be this loud."

"No Disturbed, you don't understand!" Shifter exclaimed while practically jumping up and down. How could one not when he just discovered that one of his best friends, presumed deceased, was still alive? "I had a vision! Seraph's alive!"

Disturbed's mouth hung open as he heard that. Seraph was… alive? Disturbed grabbed hold of Shifter's shoulders and shook him, "He's alive? How? Where is he; do you know?"

"I don't know where he is, Disturbed." Shifter said, putting to rest the reptiles hope for a rescue mission. "All I know is that he's alive, but if he hasn't come back to find us yet, I bet I know who has him."

Disturbed began to glare into space and cracked his knuckles. "Shadow…"

Shifter heard a yawn from inside Disturbed's cottage and Fiona strode out, her eyes baggy with sleepiness. "What's going on Disturbed? What are you doing here, Shifter?" She murmured tiredly.

"Fiona, we're getting out of Lower Mobius." Disturbed said, pulling her along. She barely managed to grab her belt holster, her Python revolver, and Seraph's M1911s.

"Why are we leaving?" She questioned, as they ran toward the edge of the city, seeing the pipe entrance.

"Seraph's alive, and being held captive by Shadow," Shifter explained. "We're going into the belly of the beast to pull his fat out of the fryer."

_[Stop Music]_

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Cell 49-B, Freelancer Zeppelin

July-22-4286

12:30 Mobius Time

Tails sighed as he hung loosely from the chains of his cell. He shook his head as he waited patiently for a certain black hedgehog to open the door. _There's no way this is going to work._

_**Just trust me, Tails, **_Seraph replied. The escape plan was simple enough. If he could use chaos energy yesterday, than he could most certainly use it today.

_There's just no way. I couldn't snag the emerald in enough time._

_**Yes, you can! Stop doubting yourself.**_

_What if it doesn't work? All logic goes against it._

_**Forget logic! If it doesn't work, I'm sure you can withstand a little zap.**_

_You try getting 'zapped' with over ten-thousand volts._

_**Look, I'm sorry, okay? But seriously, it can't be that hard.**_

_You do know this is only in theory, right? We can't prove it yet._

Tails twitched his ear as he heard the door being open, noting that their theory was about to sink or swim. He gritted his teeth as he ran the plan over in his head again. _You better be right about this, Seraph._

_**Hey, when have I ever steered you wrong?**_

_You want me to get a list?_

"You seem a little preoccupied, Tails." Shadow suddenly interrupted his thoughts. The hedgehog paced around the room, expecting a catty response from the fox. When he got none, he decided to continue. "You know the deal, Tails. Give me the locations, or you get punished."

"I know the deal, Shadow." Tails retorted with a glare. "You should also know the response."

Shadow nodded as he pulled the yellow Chaos Emerald from his spines. "I do know the response. It's the wrong one." He stated before unleashing bolts of lightning from the emerald.

_**Do it now, Tails! **_Seraph screamed in Tails' mind, and he began to focus on the streaming chaos energy, absorbing it into his body.

When he believed he'd gathered enough, Tails began to concentrate on expanding it rapidly. His body glowed with a red aura and the kitsune gave his ultimatum in the form of two words. "CHAOS BLAST!"

As the incantation was said, an explosion rang out from Tails' body, disintegrating the chains binding him and knocking Shadow into the wall. "Wow, I can't believe that worked!" Tails exclaimed with gusto before remembering where he was.

He saw Shadow recovering from the blast and he worked quickly, elbowing the back of the hedgehog's head and rendering him unconscious. Tails then picked up Shadow's yellow emerald and ran out of the room.

He noticed an elevator at the end of the holding cell halls and he entered it, trying to distance himself as much as possible from Shadow. Riding up on the elevator brought him out of the cell block, but he was faced yet another problem.

_Uh, do you remember where the hanger is, Seraph? _He asked his double, only to receive an unsettling response.

_**No, don't you remember?**_

Tails sighed as he walked out of elevator. He was thusly startled when an alarm rang throughout the base, and he checked down by his leg. As he figured, a red laser was shown, and he had tripped the alarm. "Okay, _now _we're in trouble." Tails said as he began to rush into the hallway.

_[Now Playing: __**"Headstrong" by: Trapt**__]_

Undaunted by the blaring sound and flashing red lights, Tails ran through the air ship in search of the hanger. He expected security to show up, but it was a fairly large blimp, so they could take time.

As if on cue, Tails turned a corner to find a cluster of soldiers, all with their weapons poised in the opposite direction, expecting him to come from a different path. Tails chuckled lightly and gripped the emerald in his hand, deciding to put it to good use.

He held out his hand and fired a few chaos spears, catching them off guard and scattering the squad about the hall. Tails noticed the hallway they were blocking and ran toward that. _They must know who is escaping._

_**You were probably their only prisoner, **_Seraph suggested. He then thought back to the hall the squad was protecting. _**There are probably choke points like that located at several points in the base.**_

_What does that mean for us?_

_**They're guarding the way to the hanger, so bust through them and we're home free.**_

Tails smirked as he came upon another group, guarding a single hallway as they had predicted. The kitsune stuffed the emerald into his tails for safe keeping and charged into the patrol, flying in with a kick that knocked the leader out.

He turned around to be met with a pistol barrel in his face. He glared at the tiger that was holding it and punched his hand, knocking the gun from his grip. Tails grabbed the gun out of the air and clenched the trigger several times, decimating all of the squad but the tiger. With it depleted of ammo, he dropped the pistol and punched the tiger several times in the stomach, before kicking him into the wall.

"Wow, if things are going to be this easy, they might as well have signs pointing to the hanger," Tails mused. He located the next patrol to see that they were already aiming in his direction.

The leopard leader waved his hand forward, telling the squad to charge at him, and they did so with a loud war cry. Tails simply scrunched his brow and charged as well, swerving so as to throw off their aim. He smirked and slid under the legs of the leopard, grabbing his legs and pulling him under.

Tails then stood and threw the leopard back into his group of lackeys. The kitsune kicked the dog next to him into the wall and backhanded the cat that was behind him. He expected to win easily when the final soldier, a young falcon, retrieved an M134 mini-gun from his back and began revving up the six barrels.

Tails sweated as he quickly pulled out his yellow Chaos Emerald and shouted, "CHAOS CONTROL!" The falcon was frozen in place, as well as the bullets that were mere inches from ripping through Tails' skin. With his life almost torn from him, Tails breathed a gasp in surprise. To prevent any further mishaps with the weapon, he walked toward the falcon and ripped the mini-gun from his hands, pointing it right back at him.

He let time resume and the falcon now came face to face with his own gun. "Hey, birdie." Tails mused from the firing end of the gun. The falcon looked up to him, and was surprised by his grey iris color. It was then that he realized the situation he was in. "Let's hear you scream."

The kitsune let bullets rip from the rotating barrels of the M134 and into the falcon, causing him to splutter in pain with blood gushing from his abdomen. With these soldiers decimated, he dropped the gun entered another hallway that was guarded by a single Mobian… the only problem was that he was dressed in high tech body armor.

"I assume you're the last one, huh?" Tails mused, receiving only a nod from the armored guard. "Behind you is my door to freedom."

Tails pulled out the yellow emerald and fired off a chaos spear, just to test how durable the armor was. Rather than smolder, like he hoped, the armor only sizzled on the outside, with no noticeable damage being done.

In response to the futile attack, the soldier raised his right arm, revealing it to be an arm cannon. The armored soldier fired off a blob of glowing energy, which Tails quickly dodged. He looked back at the wall where the blob impacted and saw that it didn't smolder, rather it splattered.

The fox turned his attention back toward the soldier and gritted his teeth. _It looks like the energy isn't hot, _he analyzed. _It must be an impact-based weapon using some kind of energy._

He was pulled from his thoughts as he failed to dodge a blast of energy, sending his unprepared body into the wall. He got up swiftly and managed to dodge the blast.

He could only continue to dodge as he thought of a plan. _I don't know, Seraph. Chaos spears don't seem to faze him. What's the next plan?_

_**Try chaos lightning, **_Seraph suggested,_** It's our best shot; I mean, his body's covered in armor!**_

Tails grunted in confirmation, letting the energy flow through him once more. When he felt ready for the attack, he glared straight at the armored soldier. Even the soldier could see the lightning in Tails' eyes as he shouted the incantation, "CHAOS LIGHTNING!"

In that instant, thousands of volts of electricity streamed into the soldier. He could no longer stand it, and fainted from the extreme voltage. His armor soon shut down as well, causing the entire figure to collapse.

_**You may have overdone it a bit, **_Seraph said, still thinking about how Tails had fried the body.

_There's no such thing, _Tails retorted as he ran toward a door he saw that was marked H-15K.

_This is it, Seraph! _Tails told his double, imagining that their key to freedom was on the other side of the door. He turned the knob on the door and opened it… revealing Shadow to be on the other side.

_[Stop Music]_

Tails stood there, surprised for a moment, before deciding to comment, "Wow, I can't seem to put you down for more than a few minutes, Shads."

Shadow however, was fuming with rage. "You know Tails, I've had enough!" He shouted in his anger, "I thought we could do this the easy way, but you're starting to overcomplicate things!"

"I won't comply, Shadow!" Tails retorted, ready for a fight, "You won't get the locations from me!"

"Fine then!" Shadow shouted. Finally fed up with it all, he charged at Tails. The kitsune then looked back and remembered that his avenue of escape was here, and he ran away, swiftly followed by Shadow.

_[Now Playing: __**"Just a Little Faster" by: There for Tomorrow**__]_

Though Tails ran, he noticed that he and Shadow were of about equal speed, and he wouldn't be able to take off in his plane without having to battle him.

Shadow had his green Chaos Emerald out, and he launched a chaos spear at Tails, which he weaved to the side to dodge. _If that's how he's going to play… _Tails thought, while absorbing more energy from the emerald.

He then turned to the side and initiated chaos lightning, causing bolts of light to stream toward Shadow. The black hedgehog grunted, being forced to weave in and out of the bolts so as not be hit. Shadow then dashed off to the side, and began running on the wall, hoping to get out of Tails' reach.

In response, Tails moved to the other side of the room, also running on the wall. While they ran across the wall, firing chaos spears back and forth, Tails waited for just the right moment to jump.

He noticed that Shadow was preparing as well, and he took the initiative, jumping off the wall and toward the black hedgehog while Shadow did the same. They met in the air for a short period of time, exchanging blocks and blows, until momentum carried them to the opposite walls once more.

They were beginning to round onto the wall at the end of the room and they charged straight at each other. They both jumped from the wall at the exact moment, seeming to float as they flew through the air in sync.

Tails spun and whipped around a kick, only to have Shadow flip and dodge it before launching a kick of his own, which hit the kit in the cheek, causing him to hurtle in the air out of control. He wound up his tails and spun them out, balancing his flight path so that he would have a smooth landing.

When they landed, they broke out into more fighting. Tails got in a couple punches when Shadow landed faultily, and finished with an elbow to the gut before throwing the hedgehog across the room. Shadow skidded across the floor before rolling onto his feet once more, chasing after Tails as he took off.

The two were once again in chase, heading towards the area where the aircraft was parked. They swerved in and out of the planes, making sure not to hit anything. Shadow grinned sneakily as he fired off a chaos spear to Tails.

As he expected, the kit dodged his bolt of yellow light, and instead hit the plane that was behind him, resulting in a huge explosion. Tails was launched into the air, with burns covering his body. He flipped around so he would land on his feet and dashed over to the nearest plane's front gun.

With expert quickness, he tore the gun from the plane and rewired it to fire until it was out of ammunition. With Shadow on the run from his gun, he traced the hedgehog's path, as he sped out of the path of the bullets.

Tails, thinking harder, aimed the gun ahead of Shadow's path, and as he expected, Shadow ran right into the bullets' path. He saw blood gush from wounds in the hedgehog's body, before he healed himself back up.

In the short period of time that Shadow took for healing, Tails dropped the gun and covered the distance between them in seconds, tackling him violently.

"Why did you do this, Shadow?" Tails shouted at him, pounding him with punches, "Why do you want to condemn us all?"

Shadow kicked out his legs and flipped Tails over, giving him time to stand up and kick the kit into the wall. Tails flopped off of the wall after the impact, and Shadow ran while his body was still in the air. The hedgehog the jumped and flipped, striking a fierce axe kick on Tails back and sending him to the ground, creating a small crater in the metal floor.

Tails moaned and rolled over, onto his feet, healing himself with the Chaos Emerald as quick as he could. He only barely got to his feet in time to block a punch from Shadow as the hedgehog dived out of the air. Shadow then pivoted around Tails' block and kicked the kit in the gut.

Tails clutched at his stomach as he ran off, with Shadow at his heels. "What's your goal, Shadow?" he shouted to his enemy. "What do you mean when you say you want world order?"

"It's nothing you'll ever understand, fox!" Shadow shouted right back, firing multiple chaos spears off at the kitsune. Tails only swerved from side to side, letting the bolts soar right past him. Shadow came upon him soon and they were running side by side, waiting for the other to make a move. There was a moment of respectful silence as they simply ran about, testing one another's speed.

Tails noticed that Shadow was raising his emerald, and Tails figured he'd have to counter whatever he would unleash. Shadow began the incantation slowly, "Chaos…"

Tails felt something ping in him, as if he was syncing with Shadow's thoughts. They both stopped on a dime, and turned their backs to one another, while Tails began the incantation as well, with his emerald held high, "Chaos…

"**CONTROL!"**

_[Stop Music]_

After the instance, a bright flash occurred and they both dived to the side, hoping not to be caught in whatever was happening. When Shadow looked back to the spot where they used to be, he saw a large portal with spiraling blue light inside of it.

"You… induced chaos control…" Shadow muttered in surprise, turning to the portal in thought. _This opens up possibilities, _he thought while motioning toward the portal.

"This is an inter-temporal gate, Tails." Shadow explained, "I can use this to explain to you why I'm fighting."

Shadow strode over to the portal and took a look back at the kit. Once his enemy, he now saw the fox in a different light; merely a person who was confused and fighting for his life. He saw a person who was forced to leave so much behind, and all for someone else's scheme. "Follow me if you want the truth." He stated, jumping into the swirling portal.

Tails paused slightly, not sure about what to. To his knowledge, Shadow was his enemy… but he was fighting for means that seemed justified to him.

_**I think you should go, Tails, **_Seraph suggested, studying the portal through Tails' eyes. _**At this point, the only things that could possibly be waiting on the other side of that portal are answers.**_

With reluctance, Tails took his double's advice, jumping into the portal in search of answers. There was a flash of blue and a burst of white… and then, everything went black.


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: While this chapter is a bit short, I hope it clears a couple things up for you guys!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Sega, Archie, or Yu-Gi-Oh! Disturbed, Shifter, and Hunter are all own by Nobel Six**

**Claimer: I own this plot and all characters not affiliated with the above mentioned.**

* * *

><p>The Great Unknown<p>

July-22-4286

16:20 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"Life is Beautiful" by: Sixx A.M.**__]_

Hunter pounded his metal grieves through the desert, while inner cooling within his armor kept him cool. He had a set target in mind; another Freedom Fighter settlement to crush. In the order of settlements he was destroying first, he went from the least known to the most known, not wanting to make a show of himself. Even he knew when stealth was necessary.

His next target was the wolf clan Freedom Fighters. Seldom known, and even more seldom seen, the wolf clan hid in caves that expanded throughout the Great Unknown. While the entrances to these caves could often be hidden in rock structures that were located more toward eastern edge of the vast desert, their organization was spread throughout and beneath the Great Unknown.

To find these tunnels, it would take time… but, with his existence mostly undetermined, he had all the time in the world. Even if the Freedom Fighters did find out about him, they couldn't possibly stand a chance.

He knew that Seraph had been eliminated, and Tails would probably be doomed to torture. While Shadow tore away at the Knothole Freedom Fighters, he would be behind the scenes, obliterating the smaller factions. His plan was fool proof, and he would have them all dominated within weeks.

Suddenly, he felt his heart grow heavy, as if the universe was weighing down on him. He knelt down and clutched at the area over his chest where his heart would be, his eyes shaking with fear from behind his shielding mask. _What was that? _He thought, wondering what the great pain had been caused by.

He then felt a greater heat from a compartment of his armor and he reached for the pocket. He pulled out his white Sol Emerald and found that it was flashing constantly, with a grey shimmer. The energies inside the emeralds seemed to be out of balance, as if something had been greatly tampered with in the fabric of space.

_There has been a great disturbance in the world, _Hunter concluded while stashing the emerald away. _Someone's found me out. I'll need to speed things up._

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

**~ (**_"Time is the longest distance between two places."__**–Tennessee Williams**_**) ~**

_**[**__Now Playing: __**"Eruption" by: Van Halen**__]_

…_**Syaoron the Fox presents…**_

…_**Using Material from Archie and Sega…**_

…_**As Well as Various Music and Themes…**_

_**RESURGENCE**_

_**Chapter 17**_

_**Time and Time Again**_

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Great Forest

August-15-4291

12:03 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"Don't Panic" by: Coldplay**__]_

When Tails awoke, he was unaware of his surroundings and was simply trying to recover his memories of recent events. _I remember following Shadow into the portal in the hanger… then, what's all this? _His thoughts procured in such a manner, that it had him confused and disoriented.

He was in a forested area, lying on a soft patch of grass. He listened as the birds chirped and whistled constantly, in an unusually high pitch. _What's going on? It's like the birds are scared?_

_**You never know, Tails, **_Seraph replied, pondering the strange environment as well. _**Maybe it's common that the birds are chirpy in the mornings of this place?**_

Unsure of the area, Tails stood up and began to walk around. He noticed several things that were familiar to him, such as the trees, and the nearby river. "Where am I?" Tails asked openly, as if hoping that someone would listen.

He heard the shuffling of feet and looked to his right, seeing that Shadow was taking a gander at his surroundings as well. When Shadow had seemed confident about their position, he said to Tails, "I think we're in the Great Forest…" the black hedgehog then looked at the sky and squinted. "The question you _should _be asking is '_when _are we'?"

Tails seemed confused by this, looking around for some kind of answer, only to find nothing. "What do you mean, Shadow?" he asked his former enemy.

"This is the future, Tails." He simply answered. "This is five years in _your _future; _my _present. However… something seems… different."

"Different?" Tails pondered, wondering what he could mean. "Do you mean that someone came back in time and changed something?"

"No, that's impossible," Shadow denied in disbelief. "You'd need at least two Chaos or Sol Emeralds to time travel, and I have all of the Chaos Emeralds…"

"You know, excluding the one I took from you," Tails spoke up. Shadow however, ignored the comment, deciding that he would ask for it later.

"Aside from that, I don't know anyone who should be able to travel through time…" Shadow muttered, thinking of all the possible candidates. "Anyway, we should get moving to New Mobotropolis."

As they began moving through the forest area, Tails wondered, "What's New Mobotropolis?"

"New Mobotropolis was a city built immediately after the war with Robotnik ended." Shadow explained to his newfound ally. "The war was _supposed _to end one day earlier than it had in your time, after you and the Freedom Fighters shut down Robotnik's radio control buildings. Once the war was over, the Freedom Fighters built a city directly over Robotropolis, and thusly named it, New Mobotropolis. But… something's changed."

They soon found themselves exiting the Great Forest and entering a clearing; in the distance, they could see a city, but even Shadow couldn't identify it. "That city is where New Mobotropolis _should have _been… but, it seems darker almost."

As they ventured toward it, they soon found themselves inside a massive city… and the horrors that were kept within. Fires burned across the streets, with the oncoming wind only advancing the flames. Houses and buildings on either side of the street were worn and torn, either from some other force, or from lack of maintenance.

Shadow was gasped at the sight of the city; _his _city. None of this was supposed to happen! He didn't remember any of this! Something had most definitely changed.

Some Mobians lay dead in the streets, all of them sporting some kind of fierce mutilation. Out on the streets, there was nothing alive. It was like a desert almost: cold, desolate, and lonely. They looked around for any signs of life, but they saw none. It was as though a great massacre had taken place, and they'd missed the entirety of it.

"Who do you think did all of this?" Tails asked, thoroughly disgusted at this point. His feet padded through puddles of others' blood, and heat whisked across the streets from burning buildings. But, what had caused this inhumane genocide? They intended to find out one way or another.

"I'm not sure," Shadow replied, glaring at everything he passed. It had once been prosperous here; people were lively and happy here, but something had changed. Someone had gone back in time and perverted this happiness into something much less: despair. Whoever it was, they had caused this despair that sent Mobians fleeing from the city, unless they weren't already dead in the alleys and streets.

Completely confused and tired, the duo decided to have a seat at the curb, hoping that they could find a solution to their problem. "Okay, so let's recap," Tails suggested, hoping it would clear their heads, "We're five years in my future, which is your present. Everything is different from what you remember, so some kind of paradox has occurred…"

"What do you mean by _'paradox'_?" Shadow suddenly cut in, causing Tails to stop and explain.

"It's basically something that's not supposed to be there," Tails spoke, "This means that something significant in my present happened that didn't happen in your timeline, creating a completely alternate timeline. We have to figure out what caused this separate timeline to occur and go back to the point in time in which this happened."

Shadow sighed as he played with a rock in the street, moving it in circles with his index finger. "I guess the only mystery left is who or what caused this problem?" He suggested, continuing to roll the rock around as fire played at the edge of his vision.

"Whatever or whoever it is, we'll need to return to my present to stop it," Tails continued. He leaned back on his arms and looked toward the sky, but only to see billows of smoke rise into the air. It was a pity, to see such a wondrous city in ruins.

Tails then stood and offered Shadow a hand, which he accepted and took a stand as well. "We should keep exploring the city," Tails muttered, looking over toward the ruins of much larger buildings. "Maybe we'll find something related to why this has happened."

They clambered through the interior of what used to be a large office skyscraper. Even though it had completely toppled, the inside was left fairly intact. Random papers were strewn about the room, and appliances were crackling with electricity though they were incapable of operating.

As they hiked over mounds of furniture and bounded over cracks in the floor, they began to realize just how much of this city was demolished. There wasn't an inch of this city that was left in mint condition, and one could easily consider it a ghost town.

They had traversed to the top of the skyscraper, which wasn't saying much as it had collapsed into the ground. As they sat on the side of the building, looking in through the windows beneath them, it became apparent to them that they wouldn't find a soul in this godforsaken place.

As they were about to leap off of the structure, something caught Tails' eye and he put out a hand, preventing Shadow from proceeding any further. The duo turned toward the side and finally spotted a figure in the distance. Atop another collapsed skyscraper was a very familiar, armored echidna.

"Hunter," Tails muttered, glaring at the echidna. It was clear that he had spotted them, and was beginning to run toward them at a high speed. "Shadow, we need to prepare the inter-temporal gate." He warned the hedgehog, raising his yellow Chaos Emerald high. "I know what caused all of this."

Though surprised, Shadow still raised his green emerald and they both spoke in unison.

"**CHAOS CONTROL!"**

The blue gate of swirling light appeared in a flash, and they both jumped into it immediately.

Hunter soon appeared in the spot they used to occupy and he growled angrily. "Great… they know."

_[Stop Music]_

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Freelancer Zeppelin

July-22-4286

18:59 Mobius Time

It had been several hours since Shifter had used his Sol Emerald to teleport the trio onto the Freelancer's zeppelin, and search for Seraph had been most uneventful. While the guards were still active, and they were forced to take some of them out, they were unable to find any traces of their two tailed friend.

They even searched the cell block and found nothing, except for a single cell which was covered in blood. A single sniff from Disturbed was enough for him to identify the blood as Seraph's. However, they were still unable to find him.

As they returned to their rendezvous point in the hanger, Fiona began to tear up. "What if he's not here?" She said, her depression washing over as the emotions began to flood her. "What if they killed him? There was so much blood in his holding cell. What if…"

"Enough, Fiona!" Shifter yelled, becoming irritated by her constant whining. "I know the chances are really bleak, but he has to be here! I trust Auriel, and I believe that Tails is really alive."

Disturbed leant up against a nearby plane. "Still Metatron, you have to admit that it is kind of unbelievable that you met the ghost of your wife in a dream and she tells you that Seraph is alive." He mused. He then began to observe the aircraft he was leaning against.

It was a small biplane, big enough to fit two people in the seats. While the top half was painted blue, the bottom half was a yellow color. An emblem of two tails was painted on the side as well as the word _'Tornado' _which was printed on a bold red.

Fiona took one look at the plane and gasped. "That's Tails' plane!" She observed, looking carefully at its sleek yet classic design. "What's it doing here, in Shadow's air ship of all places?"

Her question went unanswered as a great explosion occurred behind them. In surprise, they all turned around and saw that a blue portal had spontaneously erupted from the empty space. Two figures then dropped from the portal and the gate instantly collapsed, disappearing as quickly as it had appeared.

When they looked at who had landed from the portal, they all let out a gasp of surprise. "Seraph!" Fiona shouted, and she ran toward the kitsune, enveloping him in a hug.

"Sorry Fiona, but I'm not Seraph." The kit then admitted, shocking Fiona. She took as step back and observed that there was no scar on his face, and his eye color was a dull grey. "It's me, Tails."

Fiona seemed somewhat confused and saddened. Would he still be mad at her for what she did? How did he know about Seraph? With an apologetic expression, Fiona murmured, "Oh Tails, I'm sorry for what I…"

She was cut off as Tails placed his hand beneath her chin and lifted it up. He gazed into her eyes as he spoke, "I know." With that said, he closed the gap between them and planted a kiss on her lips. "I love you, Fiona."

Fiona was shocked to say the least, and blush completely enveloped her cheeks. "Then, what happened to Seraph?" She asked.

Tails gritted his teeth, knowing it would be hard to explain that. "Well, Seraph and I are the same person," He said, attempting to make it simple. "We're two halves of the same soul. When Shadow stole Seraph's soul and captured him in the emerald, he used his soul to revive me. We're simply coexisting inside of one body."

_**Ha, coexisting you say, **_Seraph mocked from within. _**All I am is a subtle consciousness! Still, I'm glad that you and Fiona are happy.**_

As Fiona absorbed this information, a smile slowly began to form on her face and she nodded in understanding.

On the other hand, Disturbed was glaring at the second figure. "And, what is Shadow doing here?"

Tails noticed that a conflict between the two might erupt, so he walked between them and held his hands out in reprieve. "Shadow and I have come to an understanding," the kit assured his reptilian comrade. "Shadow has seen why his future is destroyed, and we know how to stop him."

Shifter caught the end of that sentence in confusion. "Who's _'him'_?" he questioned.

This time, Shadow answered the question, "Have you ever heard of an echidna that goes by the name 'Hunter'?"

As soon as the name was heard, Shifter clenched his fist, remembering the echidna all too well. "So it was him, huh?"

Tails nodded and turned to Shadow, giving him a handshake before he walked over toward the Tornado. "Shadow's going to let us leave so we can go find Hunter and take him down," Seraph debriefed them, climbing into his pilot seat. "I suggest you climb in."

While Fiona clambered on and occupied the co-pilot seat, Shifter and Disturbed looked back and forth between themselves and the plane. "Uh Tails?" Disturbed raised his voice, getting the kit's attention. "Where are we supposed to sit?"

Tails seemed unfazed by the question as he checked all of the controls to see if they still worked the same. "You sit on the wings, of course!" He said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"You make it sound as if that's supposed to be safe."

"It's perfectly safe! Sonic does it all the time!"

With a roll of the eyes, Disturbed sat on the wing and cautiously looked toward the bay doors that were slowly opening. The reptile then looked over to Shifter and gave him a confused stare. "What about you, Metatron?" he asked his mentor, "Aren't you going to get on?"

Shifter responded by transforming into his Shadow Dragon form. He flared out his six black wings and narrowed his red eye at his pupil. "Do you really need to ask?"

Disturbed crossed his arms, not liking the situation one bit. "Fine, but if I fall off of that death trap and die, I'm going to haunt you, Tails," he pouted while clambering onto the side wing, albeit somewhat hesitantly.

Tails chuckled and inserted his yellow Chaos Emerald into a slot on the dashboard. In an instant, the entire plane flared to life; the dashboard was lighting up and the front turbine began spinning up, along with the propeller. The plane slowly lurched forward until it finally took flight and exited the hanger, soaring into the air once more.

_[Now Playing: __**"Canon in D" by: Mike Strickland**__]_

As the trio soared through the clouds, Tails became somewhat concerned for a certain chipmunk and hedgehog he knew and how they were doing. "Hey Fiona, where did the Freedom Fighters go after Knothole was destroyed?" he asked the red vixen.

She was quick to reply, knowing that he would most likely want to see them again as soon as possible. "They're in Lower Mobius, hiding out from any further attacks."

Tails scrunched his brow as nothing came to mind from those words. "They never told me about Lower Mobius, so I can't say I know where that is," he muttered, confused as to their whereabouts.

Fiona only chuckled softly, knowing that he was still the same old Prower. "The entrance to Lower Mobius is over by the…"

"It's okay Fiona," Tails cut her off, surprising the vixen. She thought he wanted to go see them, but apparently not. "I think that can wait for tomorrow. Besides, I'm sure you guys are tired from searching for me all day."

Fiona blushed, still trying to get used to how much Tails actually cared about them all. It was one of the traits that she enjoyed about him; his kindness was offered to everyone and anyone.

Shifter glided over so he was above the Tornado, allowing him ease of communication with the young Prower. "So Tails, how was the future?" he questioned, curious as to why Hunter was their target.

The kit shook his head. "It's bleak, to say the least," he summarized. The memories of that place all flooded back, with people lying dead in the streets and fires burning wide. "New Mobotropolis was in ruins and everyone was dead. The only person left alive was Hunter, and that's when we knew he was behind it."

Shifter nodded and continued to soar alongside the Tornado, taking in the nice breeze. Even if they would need to hunt down Hunter, he still managed to enjoy every moment of calm that he was given. He would've even tried to talk to Disturbed if the reptile wasn't clinging onto the wing for dear life.

"Alright guys, we're coming in for a landing." Tails spoke, just loud enough so it could be heard over the wind. At this sentence, Disturbed perked up as if he were a child who just found out that Christmas was coming a few months early. "Thanks to the clearing that I spotted, we should have a fairly smooth landing as well."

The quartet of fliers soon landed in the grassy clearing. As Shifter set down and reverted to his default silver wolf form, he watched as the Tornado's wheels softly touched down and the plane rolled for a distance before stopping in its tracks.

While Disturbed was clambering off of the flying machine and kissing the earth beneath his feet, Tails and Fiona had unbuckled and jumped from the pilot and co-pilot seats, landing on the soft grass. "Oh Jesus!" Disturbed began praising to the heavens in thanks for being let down unto the ground. "Thank you for letting me live! I'll never leave good old terra firma again!"

Tails gave the reptile an odd look before shaking his head. "We'll stay here for the night," Tails declared, finding the grass to be quite comfortable. "Tomorrow you can show me the entrance to Lower Mobius."

As they all lay out, watching the sun set, Fiona scooted over and nestled her head into Tails' furry chest. A tear of joy escaped her eyes, rolling down her cheek and dampening Tails fur. "I'm really glad your back Tails. I missed you."

Tails planted a kiss on her forehead and began to caress her back. "I missed you too Fiona." He spoke softly while watching the glowing sun disappear behind the horizon. "And I promise I'll never leave you again."

Fiona gazed up into the sky, watching it slowly turn from shades of orange and purple to a dark blue. The stars began appearing above, and they let down a soft light. As the moon soon became visible and the clouds passed on, she began to really understand what it meant to be loved.

To be loved was to be cared for, in any case, no matter what. Even if you had hurt that person, if they truly loved you, they would always care for and about you. As it dawned on her, she felt that she truly loved the kitsune back, whether he was Tails or Seraph.

"I'll hold you to that promise," she murmured to the kit playfully as weariness claimed her and she floated off into a deep sleep.


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: This story will soon be drawing to a close. All I have to say is: thank you, loyal fans!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Sega, Archie, or Yu-Gi-Oh! Disturbed, Shifter, and Hunter are all owned by Nobel Six**

**Claimer: I own this plot and all characters not affiliated with the previously mentioned.**

* * *

><p>Mount Libith<p>

July-23-4286

0:21 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"Elect the Dead" by: Serj Tankien**__]_

"_So they know about me, eh? Ha, it will not matter! Not when they are all dead by my hand and I hold the world in my palm! Soon, Metatron… SOON!"_

...

It was everywhere, the red liquid. A small alter in a hidden cave was bathed in the liquid that was supposed to keep us alive. As is known, your body can only lose so much of the crimson before you fall victim to the darkness, forever to be lost in the afterlife. But, who would be the murderous sadist to drain the blood from his victims till their faces pale for eternity? Who would be the one to strike such judgment on these innocents?

One lone wolf was still alive… barely alive and struggling, with blood gushing from a wound in his side, but still alive. As he crawled in puddles of his brothers' blood, he became soaked in the dead life essence of his family. He slowly looked upward, facing the one being that stood, his shining silver armor stained with the blood of his pack. The dying wolf glared at him with contempt, "how dare…"

The wolf never finished his accusation, with his death sentence being given by the armored echidna in the form of a kick to the neck, instantly snapping the spine. Thus, the last of the wolf clan was left in death, to rot in their cave till the end of time.

From behind his cruel mask, the echidna sneered at the wolf. Who was he to try and stop him, this lowly wolf on the brink of death? He only got himself killed faster by speaking up, even if he'd have died eventually. Though surrounded by blood and gore, the echidna felt right at home, welcoming this massacre as he pounded his greaves through the cave. He stepped on and over the dead wolf bodies, with bones crunching beneath his feet and his smile ever widening.

He stared at the blood soaked alter which held his prize: the red Sol Emerald. He snatched the emerald from its place with glee and stowed it in a compartment of his armor, which also contained five other Sol Emeralds. _Soon, I will have the power to stamp out the entire world! _He thought with excitement.

To even have one of the emeralds of power was to hold great power in itself. To hold the entire set of seven, of either Chaos or Sol Emeralds, was to contain nearly infinite power.

There are some men in the universe who are sadistic to the core. Their lives have been twisted so horribly, that their conscience is no longer in existence, and they live only for one thing… they want to see the world burn. They want to see the ground shake, buildings fall, and devastation wreaking the planet. They want to see lives ruined right before their eyes. They want to lick the blood from their fingers as they tear the hearts out of other people. Hunter was one of those few people.

_All that's left is one single emerald, and I know exactly who holds it…_

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

**~ (**_"At its most, human is all we are, and all we will ever be."__**–Syaoron the Fox**_**) ~**

_**[**__Now Playing: __**"Eruption" by: Van Halen**__]_

…_**Syaoron the Fox presents…**_

…_**Using Material from Archie and Sega…**_

…_**As Well as Various Music and Themes…**_

_**RESURGENCE**_

_**Chapter 18**_

_**Reunion**_

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Great Forest

July-23-4286

7:16 Mobius Time

As light began to peak over the horizon, striking the lids of a young kitsune's eyes, the forest became alight with life. Birds chirped in the early morning while dew began to drip off of some trees. It was as though the sun was an otherworldly sign for everything.

Dew dripped off of a tree from above and plopped on the kitsune's face, startling him awake. He shook his head while sitting up, waiting for the blurriness to leave his vision. When it finally did, he looked at the world before him as if it were a stockpile of gold. _It feels good to wake up in your own peaceful world, and not some forsaken future, huh Seraph? _He thought pleasantly, simply leaning back on his arms.

_**It may be peaceful for now Tails, but Hunter is still out there, **_Seraph replied with a sense of duty about him. _**There won't be complete harmony until he's stopped.**_

Tails still couldn't drop his happy expression, even in the presence of such knowledge. _Still… I have to see Sally and Sonic before anything else happens._

With that thought in mind, he looked toward his right where he saw Fiona, relaxing in content. They had fallen asleep together, as they had done so many times before. However, now that Tails was back, and their true feelings for one another had finally come out, he'd felt pretty good about himself. He nudged the red vixen a little with his hand, disturbing her rest. "Tails, it's too early in the morning," she complained while stuffing her face into his chest fur. "Can't we get up later, just for once?"

"Sorry Fiona," Tails softly declined her. "We have a future to save, an insane echidna to kill, and on top of all that, we have to coordinate this with the Freedom Fighters. I'm booked for time, and you need to wake up."

But still, the vixen continued to resist as she rolled back the other way, flinging her arm over herself and onto an unsuspecting Disturbed. The reptilian opened his eyes with a glare, only to see Fiona's red furred arm draped over him. "I've never received a less welcoming wake-up call." He stated as he removed her arm from his face apathetically before standing up and stretching his back.

He looked over to his side and found that Shifter was also in a currently peaceful sleep. He would've left the wolf had he not been woken up by Fiona. But now, it wouldn't be fair to let him stay there. He needed to let out his frustration…

Disturbed bent down and whispered quietly in his ear, "Seven days…" The results were immediately shown, as the wolf snapped his eyes open and screeched like a banshee, practically teleporting behind Tails' back and peering over the kit's shoulder like a frightened child.

As he soon realized that his assailant was the bony armed reptilian, his face of shock gave way to a glare of dislike. "You… you did this to me…" he simply muttered with a dark tone in his voice.

Disturbed shrugged it off and turned to the side, a look of glee on his face. "Only the best of us," he stated smugly, "Deal with it." This only enraged the shape-shifter even more.

Shifter stuck out his index and middle finger and began to alternate pointing between himself and Disturbed. As he squinted his eyes even more, he threatened his former pupil, "I'm watching you."

"Sorry Metatron, but I don't swing that way!" Disturbed called back as he strode away, satisfied with the verbal beating he had given Shifter. He was promptly chased by the wolf and the two continued their ranting. The foxes watched from afar, with Tails shaking his head toward the two and Fiona chuckling at the enjoyable experience.

With the few precious moments to themselves, neither of the two knew what to say to one another. Tails decided to break the ice, asking, "You were going to show me the way to Lower Mobius, right?"

Fiona stuttered slightly at the sudden question, it having been brought up so randomly. She quickly replied, "Of course! Do you want to go now, or should we wait for the dynamic duo to stop taunting one another?" Said dynamic duo was still insulting each other, both of them crabby with having been woken up early.

"I'm not entirely sure, Fiona." Tails muttered, slightly amused by the two. "I say we watch them draw this out."

The crimson vixen nodded and sat down, which the kitsune soon did as well, and they let the comedic act continue.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Lower Mobius

July-23-4286

10:16 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing:__** "Yellow" by: Coldplay**__]_

Sally paced back and forth in the confines of her hut, cursing under her breath for the happenings. Some may say that she's overreacting, but you wouldn't say that if you bore her burdens.

They'd all vanished. In the morning of yesterday, Antoine was sent to check on the Alpha squad members, to see if they were still holding up, with their dead teammate having been lost and all. When Antoine's reports came back inconclusive–the coyote having pleaded that they were gone–Sally sent Sonic to make a quick check on them.

As Antoine had said; Shifter, Disturbed, and Fiona had all disappeared without a trace. While the coyote sulked, thinking that Sally had distrusted him by sending out Sonic, the chipmunk princess of Mobius was still concerned for them. With them gone, they didn't have a single bead on whether or not Shadow would attack them, and they were left completely in the dark.

As she wracked her brain for answers, she came upon one possibility that _would _explain their sudden disappearance… but it was absolutely ludicrous. "They wouldn't believe that he's alive… would they?" She pondered aloud, trying to reason with herself. "Absolutely not! There's not even a sliver of a chance that Seraph could've survived whatever Shadow did to him!"

Meanwhile, Sonic was leaning against the wall on the outside of her hut, listening to the chipmunk rant. To him, she sounded like she was having a conversation with herself on the future events of some kind of sitcom or soap opera. With a sigh, he merely returned to leaning against the wall.

He saw something in the distance later that made his eyes bulge. "Sally," he spoke through her window, trying to get her attention.

"Not right now, Sonic." She replied with the shake of her head. "I've got a lot on my mind."

"No Sal, you have to see this."

"Sorry, I'm a little busy."

"Sal, their back!" Sonic finally shouted in suspense. "Alpha squad's back… and someone else is with them."

At this, Sally gasped. If they had someone else with them, it could only be one person. She rushed out the door and ran toward them with tears in her eyes, soon to be followed by Sonic. At the front of the group was Fiona, who was enveloped in a tight hug by the Mobius' princess. "Fiona, your back! I thought you guys were gone!"

"We were away for a while, princess," Fiona said. "But on our way back, we picked up a very important person."

The three made way so that all there was naught between Sally and the kitsune with them. She noticed that Seraph had lost his scars and his eyes were drained of color, and she wondered what had happened. "Seraph, is that you?" She asked, trying to make sense of this.

The two words he responded with nearly broke her down. Those two words made what seemed impossible possible, and it completely disregarded everything that had happened on that fateful day, about a month ago. "Aunt Sally?"

She stared at the kit and knew it was him. Even if it wasn't him as he was a moth ago, it was him. No one else in all of Knothole called her that. Though all logic went against it, she just had to believe it… "Oh Tails, you're alive!" she exclaimed, diving at the kit and crushing him in a loving hug. "I can't believe it's really you!"

Tails simply stood there, patting her back sympathetically. A single tear rolled down his cheek as he tended to the Mobian princess. "It's okay Sally, I'm back and that's all that matters." However, she continued to weep on the kit's chest in happiness. He was alive, and that meant the world to her.

As Tails looked behind his surrogate aunt, he noticed a blue hedgehog standing a short ways behind her. The fox proceeded to smile and nod at the hedgehog while moving Sally into someone else's hands.

As Sonic strode forward, closing the distance between the two, he started conversation, "It's been a while, eh little buddy?"

Even in the façade he made, Tails could still see the tears in his eyes. He knew that Sonic was trying his hardest not to cry, and that was one of the things that the kit respected him for. He acted stronger for others so that they could have faith. "It really has, Sonic," Tails replied while sticking out his hand for a handshake.

Sonic smirked and accepted the handshake before pulling Tails in for a hug. "I missed you, bro. Where've you been?"

Tails swore he heard the hedgehog's voice crack, but he disregarded it. "Shadow kept me captive, but we've come to an understanding." The fox explained, "Seraph's soul and mine have fused, so Seraph is living inside of me right now."

Sonic raised a brow to his surrogate younger brother, but thought nothing of it. "What do you mean when you say that Shadow and you have come to an understanding?" he questioned him, curious as to what had been going on.

"Shadow comes from the future," Tails stated, giving a basis for his lecture. "He came back in time to stop a disaster that was going to happen. However, when we went back to the future so Shadow could explain this all to me, we learned that history was changed and an echidna who goes by the name 'Hunter' is trying to destroy the world. We're teaming up to stop him."

Sonic nodded, having understood the problem. "Well, what are we waiting for? We have to go find him and put a stop to all of this!"

The speed demon was about to run off when Tails grabbed his arm and halted the hedgehog in his tracks. "We don't have to go quite yet, Sonic," Tails argued against him. Unlike the hedgehog, he actually wanted at least one day of calm before he faced their final obstacle to freedom. "We don't even know where he is yet."

Though he knew it should be done as quickly as possible, Sonic did have to admit to that. They hadn't a clue where this echidna was, and he could be anywhere on Mobius. With free time on their hands, Sonic did the one thing he'd wanted to do for a long time. "Well then Tails, I challenge you to a duel!"

To this, the kit nodded happily, and the two brothers continued on to their doings. On a far off table, the two could be seen setting up for a traditional game of Duel Monsters. They shuffled their cards at inane speeds and went about their playing, with people all around observing the match. All Fiona and Sally could do was watch. Sonic and Tails were happy again; they were brothers again… and that's all they wanted.

_[Stop Music]_

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The Great Unknown

July-23-4286

18:46 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"Red vs. Blue Revelation Suite" on: Red vs. Blue Revelation original soundtrack**__]_

Footprints were made in the sand of the desert just a day before. These footprints marked a trail to a blood stained hell, and the being that created these footprints was one of the deadliest demons to ever walk Mobius. The wind was inactive, leaving the trail to be followed by anyone. However, anyone who did follow the trail would most likely end up a bloody disaster, as the trail blazer had done to all his victims.

Now, in the opposite direction, another trail of footprints was being made by the very same sadist. Sand crunched beneath his cold greaves as he paved a new path in the desert, probably never to be followed. His gauntlet was stained with dried and cracked blood, which he continued to rub off. He never liked leaving such a mess on his armor; it was one of the few things he kept clean.

As he trudged through the barren place, he noticed that everything had grown dark, as if the sun had been blotted out. When he looked up to check for this anomaly, he was met with the one thing he _didn't _want to see that day. It was the Freelancer Zeppelin, out in the middle of nowhere. It was no coincidence; they'd found him out.

He noticed that three shadowy figures dropped from the air ship before it continued off, and the three landed in the sand nearby. In front of him were two jaguars and a green duck, all of which wore black clothing. "So, you're the lackeys that Shadow sent to eliminate me, huh?" He questioned mockingly.

At this, the green duck seemed angered. "You call me a lackey, huh? Well I'll have you know…"

"Bean, stop this pointless banter," the male jaguar ordered, keeping his eyes on the echidna. "We still have a job to complete."

"Oh please, you and Alicia are always trying to ruin my fun, aren't you Xavier?" Bean stated. He felt like a child that was being harshly underestimated and undermined.

Hunter only shook his head at the three. Shadow had sent these simpletons to exterminate him? That was almost demeaning. "I understand that you three are all on a mission and all, but I'm I a bit of a hurry." Hunter said impatiently before rushing toward them.

With great ease, Hunter spun around and whipped a spinning kick into all of the unprepared Alpha squad members. The three quickly stood up, knowing that they would be taken advantage of again if they stayed down. Hunter tried to strike a punch to Xavier, but the jaguar put up a quick block and prevented the damage. He then countered by retrieving his katana from his back and taking a few quick slashes at the echidna.

While the slashes did little against his armor, the echidna knew that continuous blows like that would shred his armor away, so he put up his armored hand and grabbed the sword before it could strike him again. He then pulled Xavier closer to him and delivered a punishing kick to his gut.

He reveled in the beating he gave his opponent, but didn't let it go to his head as he saw Alicia's blade headed for his neck. Hunter ducked under the sword and kicked low, tripping up the female jaguar. In his spin, Hunter grabbed her leg and threw her up into the air so he could finish her off.

Were it not for a nearby explosion, he would've done so. He looked to his side to see a small burnt crater with shreds of plastic still buried in the sand and Bean smirked from behind. When he spotted the bird smirking, Hunter immediately rolled backward and shot up, kicking the bird in the chin. He was about to tear the bird apart when Bean threw another plastic explosive in the form of a small knife at the echidna.

It stuck into his armor and he winced as the explosion enveloped him and set him back to Mobius. He wearily stood and attempted to walk forward when he felt a sword slash against his armor. With the heavy dust in the air, he couldn't tell where these attacks were coming from, making him growl in fury. He pulled out one of his Sol Emeralds and shouted, "SOLUS BLAST!"

The resulting orange explosion not only halted the assault, it dispersed the dust and sent the two jaguars back into the dirt. While they had to recover from the blast, Hunter rushed once more at an already prepared Bean. The duck smirked as he stood back, and Hunter figured that the pyromaniac probably had some kind of trap or mine set.

As he predicted, after dodging quickly to one side after hearing a beep, an explosion rang from the ground and he realized that he had just stepped into a mine field. While continuing to dodge the explosions and nearing the bird, he condensed some of the Sol Emerald's energy into his palm.

When an overconfident Bean was mere feet from him, he lunged at the duck with his palm extended, revealing an orb of iridescent energy. He plunged the orb into the duck and he squealed in pain from being torn apart on the inside. Blood and bones were shredded and shattered in seconds as Bean was exposed to the violently whirring energy.

Xavier watched as his comrade's bloody corpse fell, and a feeling of anger and anguish welled up within him, causing him to run desperately at the echidna with his katana. Hunter merely glared at the jaguar and swung his hand in time with the sword, causing the two to clash. After several more clashes, Hunter brought up his steeled leg and snapped a fierce kick to the jaguar, causing him to flip backward while still landing on his feet.

The echidna began to scheme backing toward the dead bird's body as the jaguar duo approached him. Then, with a smirk on his face, Hunter kicked the bird's body toward the two, along with the explosives attached to him. As a fleeting gift, he scraped his gauntlets together, resulting in a spark that caught one of Beans explosives and caused a huge explosion.

Xavier and Alicia were blown away by the shockwave of the explosion and were unprepared when the desert sand began to seep away and reveal a chasm that had probably been closed off by all the piling sand. Hunter dived into the chasm and was soon followed by the jaguar couple and they all bounded off of the footholds on the inside of the chasm.

As the clashed in the air, with Alicia and Xavier double teaming Hunter, he found his situation to be pretty bleak and he thusly reached for two of his Sol Emeralds. "SOLUS MAGIC!" he shouted from one of the footholds, causing several orange colored explosions to envelope the area near the jaguar couple, keeping them on the move from falling rocks and the multiple explosions.

Hunter decided that enough had been enough, and he shouted the incantation, "SHADOW FORCE!" Shadows all across the chasm soon began to seep up and snagged the two jaguars in their dodging escapade.

"You were a formidable opponent," Hunter admitted as he held his palm out, fingers extended. "But now, it's time for you to die!" With the phrase said, he balled his hand into a fist and crushed the two, splattering their blood against the chasm walls for all eternity.

With his enemy in ruin, their blood doomed to forever paint the sands of this desolate desert, he frowned at the fact that he was becoming the hunted, rather than the hunter.

He knew that he had to find that final Sol Emerald and forward his plans of world destruction. If he kept waiting, he would be on the run from enemies that were just as formidable as these three. He smirked with the fact that he had the knowledge of where the emerald was, and how to acquire it.

He pocketed one of the gems, leaving him with the white Sol Emerald in his hand… the very same one he had used to fight Shifter a couple weeks ago. "Tomorrow, Metatron…" He muttered evilly, "I will give you till tomorrow… then, your fate will be decided."


	19. Chapter 19

**AN: Viewers, be prepared for a long chapter! This will be the climax of the story, with one final epilouge after this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I neither claim nor own anything from Sega, Archie, or Yu-Gi-Oh! The characters Disturbed, Shifter, and Hunter are owned by Nobel Six.**

**Claimer: I own this plot and all characters that aren't affiliated with the above mentioned.**

* * *

><p>Lower Mobius<p>

July-24-4286

8:17 Mobius Time

_[Now Playing: __**"Eleanor Rigby" by: Voltaire 7**__]_

Shifter woke with a shock that morning, even though he had still slept in late by his standards. He gripped the sides of his head while he thought about that prophetic dream.

Once again, Auriel had spoken to him through his subconscious, and the things she foretold were none too good. She had told him many things about what was happening, and had once again reminded him that Hunter would need to be stopped. She also warned him of something, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember.

He jolted as he felt sudden warmth in his tail fur. Sifting through his fur, he found that his red Sol Emerald was blinking. The blips of light came ever more rapidly until a light projected from the emerald in front of him, displaying a metal armored echidna. "Well, if it isn't my old friend," Hunter greeted. "How's it been for you, Metatron?"

Shifter glared at the projection, knowing that the echidna on the other side could see him in perfect quality. "Just cut to the chase, Thanatos. What do you want?" the shape shifter questioned Hunter.

The echidna smirked inwardly as he heard his real name being said. They were finally beginning to speak as if they were equals. "I want finality, Metatron." Hunter explained. "I hate you and you hate me, and we both want revenge on each other."

"What importance does that have?" Shifter spoke with a skeptic narrow of his eyes. "Of course I hate you, and I know you hate me. That information is nothing new to me."

"I want to finish what I started all those years ago," Hunter bluntly stated. Shifter thought he could see a glimmer of hate through the slits that his eyes hid behind, but he couldn't tell through the hologram. "You and me; no one else, at the border between Robotropolis and the Great Forest."

Shifter smirked, knowing what it was. It was just a trap; a trick to draw him out into the open. He was too smart for that. "I'll have to decline Hunter," he rejected the echidna.

"What do you mean, you decline?" Hunter shouted at him. He was utterly dumbfounded that Shifter wasn't looking for revenge as he was. "Why would you decline a perfectly fair fight?"

Shifter raised an eyebrow, as if questioning the use of the term _fair_. Inwardly though, he was in a rage. He hadn't even given Auriel a fair chance at fighting. "I have other things to stick around for," he admitted, giving his excuse. "One chance for revenge on you isn't going to make me leave my friends. Besides, I'll take your use of _'fair' _with a grain of salt."

Shifter was about to cut the connection as he heard Hunter speak again. With a sigh, the metal plated echidna spoke, "I knew it, Metatron. You're weak."

"Nothing you say will make me go Thanatos," Shifter retorted. He was simply blocking out the emotions the echidna was trying to impose on him

He was once again about to cut the connection when Hunter spoke again. "Yes, you _are _weak. Just like your precious Auriel was."

At this, Shifter felt his rage peak and he glowered back down at the hologram. "How dare you insult her?" He shouted at the echidna. "She had more strength than you ever will!"

"And, you know what's funny, Metatron?" he continued to taunt him. "If Auriel was so strong, then how was I able to rip her to shreds right before your eyes?"

At this point, Hunter could see him boiling over with rage, and he supposed that the damage had been done. "Be there, twelve o'clock sharp," he finally finished, before cutting off the connection.

In silence, Shifter sat on his bed. His eyes quivered with rage and his hands shook with ferocity. With the clenching of his teeth, he stood up quickly and grabbed Xaquira. He examined the black steel blade to make sure it was still in top condition, and found its wide edges to be perfectly sharp, as they always were.

He sheathed it on his back and dashed out the door, practically leaving it in splinters as he bashed it open. He passed throughout much of the village on his way out, and could see Sonic and Tails playing another game of Duel Monsters at a local tavern. He swore he noticed them glancing in his direction as he ran off.

Tears were in his eyes as he neared the caverns from where he could leave Lower Mobius. In a flash of light though, he noticed that Sonic and Tails were standing before him, the later holding his yellow Chaos Emerald in his hands. "Where're you going, Shifter?" Tails questioned, a skeptical glint was in his eyes.

"That's none of your business," he retorted with anger. Sonic could practically his chest expand and contract with every enraged breath. "Out of my way, or I may have to hurt you."

In a short silence, the three never moved. "I know where you're going, Shifter." Tails claimed looking all over at his apparel. "You're going to fight him, aren't you?"

Shifter took a step back in surprise. "How did you know that?" he asked, befuddled that anyone could know. Only he and Hunter were aware of that conversation to his knowledge.

"You're practically giving it away," Tails said while studying him. "You have your sword on your back and your Sol Emerald in your hand at the ready, as if you're going to have a fight. You were also running out of here pretty fast, as if something was dependent on your arrival.

"I noticed that you didn't use your emerald to simply teleport to the location, meaning you're angry, and you know you can't properly use the emerald when your emotions are out of control. When you ran past our tavern, your footsteps weren't light either; we could hear your pounding from a great distance. Whoever you're going to fight is obviously someone you're very angry at, and I only know one person who fits that bill."

Shifter, though still amazed that Tails was able to figure everything out by his appearance and reaction, still refused to back down. "He insulted her, Tails!" the wolf tried arguing. "He cursed my very memory of her! I need to avenge her!"

"Do you actually think you can beat him alone?" the kit retorted. "He has six of the Sol Emeralds; use your head! He's only trying to draw you out so he can steal the last one!"

"This may be my last chance for revenge, Tails." Shifter finished while transforming into a creature that held resemblance to a velociraptor. In a split second, Shifter had run past the kit and kicked him in the back of the neck with enough force to send him off of the drop-off that led into Lower Mobius. Sonic was too late to react and met a similar fate. "I'm sorry I had to do that."

He gave them one last fleeting glance before rushing out of the city, with tears lingering in his eyes.

_[Stop Music]_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

**~ (**_"Finality is death. Perfection is finality. Nothing is perfect."–__**James Stephens**_**) ~ **

_**[**__Now Playing: __**"Eruption" by: Van Halen**__]_

…_**Syaoron the Fox presents…**_

…_**Using Material from Archie and Sega…**_

…_**As Well as Various Music and Themes…**_

_**RESURGENCE**_

_**Chapter 19**_

_**When Chaos Collides**_

**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

Robotropolis Outskirts

July-24-4286

11:55 Mobius Time

The two archenemies were exactly twenty paces from each other, with their backs turned to the other. Shifter couldn't believe it when Hunter had suggested this method; this completely fair method. The two had their watches synchronized and they were staring at them intently.

As soon as the clock hit noon, they were going to throw down. At the end of this battle, one would be victorious, and the other would be dead. They were on their final minutes, just waiting for the seconds to tick away the last of their time.

Finally, after several nauseating minutes, the second hand ticked to the top and it struck twelve.

_[Now Playing: __**"Here to Stay" by: Korn**__]_

With a swift turnaround, Shifter had already unsheathed Xaquira while Hunter was poised in a position that allowed him good mobility. Both of them were ready to tear at the other's throat, and they lunged forward with malice in mind.

Shifter slashed forward with Xaquira, but Hunter spun and deflected the hit while getting ready to backhand his enemy. Quickly though, Shifter twisted his body and brought his blade up to block the hit. The two were back to back as they spun and tried getting in a hit on the other.

Shifter slashed at Hunter's neck, but the echidna simply ducked and chopped a low kick at him. Shifter barely reacted in time and jumped up, avoiding the kick to his knees. He then flipped backward and brought down a fierce kick to the back of his enemy's head. This would've sent Hunter into the ground, but he rolled into the fall and was immediately back on his feet.

To respond to this, Shifter threw Xaquira at the armored echidna, who swiftly ducked under the blade. As he bent his head back, he noticed that Shifter had managed to get behind him quick enough to catch the black sword and swung for his neck. Hunter simply rolled back and under Shifter's legs. He then propelled a kick into Shifter's back, sending him into the ground.

The echidna then figured out how Shifter had gotten behind him so fast. He had transformed again, this time into a creature that resembled a velociraptor. With his small torso and long legs, it explained how he'd managed to roll beneath him.

With swiftness, Shifter stood back up. He held Xaquira in a reverse position, with the blade pointing outward and away from him, rather than pointing in front of him. He practically vanished, leaving a cloud of dust in his trail as he threw a rapid combination of kicks and slashes at the unprepared echidna.

Hunter fell backward from the blows that he received, not even having seen them. He then quickly stood up, running a series of calculations through his mind predict where he would strike. As he figured out, he put his arm out to the side for a block, catching a kick from the velociraptor. Shifter looked surprised, unprepared for a solid punch to the face.

He felt dizzy from having been struck by the steeled face, the world seeming blurry before him. As it cleared, he spotted Hunter charging at him with his gauntlets ready to slash at him. With his supreme speed, Shifter held his sword up to block the strike and shot his legs out, forcing the echidna backward a few feet.

He then stood and gripped Xaquira with both hands, separating it into two blades. With swiftness, he dashed and began a combination of slashes, the fierceness of which was actually shredding the armor. Hunter grunted as he felt the armor shred off, revealing some of his black fur. He quivered at the thought that his armor could be completely destroyed if this continued and he lashed out in rage, slashing at Shifter and drawing a bit of blood.

Shifter winced from the pain, but ignored it the best he could as they continued to strike at each other. Though blows and blocks were exchanged, neither of them was making much progress on killing the other. In a fit of rage, Hunter spun and tried to get a kick into the velociraptor's abdomen. Shifter simply crossed his sword and blocked his attempt.

He then twisted the swords and brought Hunter to the ground. He stabbed toward him, but Hunter simply rolled out of the way. The echidna then pounced on Shifter, reaching and slashing at his face, but he was kept at bay by Xaquira's two halves. Shifter rolled his head to either side, dodging the echidna's snatching.

After this struggle had gone on long enough, Shifter brought his powerful legs up and kicked the echidna straight up into the air. He then rolled onto his feet and jumped up after him. The two met in the air and Shifter brought his leg around for a snap kick. Hunter just managed to barrel roll to the side and he grabbed Shifter by the chest. Hunter then elbowed him a couple times in the chest, causing the velociraptor to cough up blood, before he pivoted his enemy's body so his head was facing the ground.

Shifter writhed in the echidna's grasp, trying to get free from his imminent doom. He found that the only way to escape was to transform again, and thus he did. Hunter could no longer hold onto his archenemy as he transformed into a small, wingless dragon that was colored in shades of dark purple and pitch black.

Shifter managed to land upright and growled, baring his fangs and revealing an eerie green liquid seeping from his mouth. He pieced Xaquira back together into one sword and sheathed it, leaving his hands free for other uses. He then reached his hand down his throat and extracted two small combat knives that were drenched in the green substance.

Hunter gritted his teeth as he figured out what he was using. _Great, a poison-spitting dragon, _he thought. While annoyed by this sudden switch, he knew that if he wasn't careful, that poison would take him out in an instant. He thusly decided to try a more offensive strategy, keeping Shifter on the run rather than attacking with his poison.

Hunter lashed out with clawed strike and Shifter simply tried dodged to the side. His reduced speed was a consequence he'd have to deal with, and the strike landed cleanly, drawing a great deal of blood from the dragon.

Shifter grunted as he lunged for a strike with his knives, but was only met with air as Hunter dodged to the left and whipped around a fierce kick, sending the dragon back a ways. Shifter crawled to his feet and dropped one of his knives to the floor, holding his hand out.

He revealed that in the palm of his hand was a small machine gun. He let off a couple rounds at the echidna, who swiftly rolled out of the path. In the place where he just was a cluster of needles, each coated in the venom. Shifter was now aiming with both hands and firing the needles at Hunter, who ran away from the path and behind a rock.

As the needles pelted the rock and whittled it away, Hunter tried to think of a quick plan to get himself out of the mess. A brilliant idea struck him suddenly, but he knew it would require the most precise of accuracy. He decided to take the risk and clutched a single Sol Emerald and imagined the spot right behind Shifter.

"SOLUS CONTROL!" he incanted, suddenly disappearing from behind the rock and reappearing behind Shifter. He then stashed the emerald and was about to lunge a strike at his enemy, but he turned around just in time and grabbed his arms before he could lunge for the punch.

Another benefit of this transformation was enhanced strength, and Shifter thusly used it to his advantage and brought the echidna to his knees. He then kicked Hunter in the head, sending him tumbling backward as a small crater was made in his wake.

Shifter then reacquired his poisoned knives and strode toward the befuddled echidna. While Hunter was trying to retrieve his bearing, Shifter simply stepped up beside him and slashed at his arms. The sharp knives immediately cut through the armor's joints and split into his skin.

The jolt of pain brought Hunter back to reality and he stumbled from the blow. He huffed in anger as he caught his breath and reared back to punch Shifter. It was in this attempt that he realized that all his strength had left him and his punch was doing nothing useful. Shifter simply stood there and kicked the echidna back down to the ground.

"It's no use Thanatos," he claimed as he stared at the echidna. "Soon, the poison will enter your heart and it will no longer have the strength to beat."

Hunter smirked as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his white Sol Emerald. "That's what you think," he muttered as phosphorus orange energy seeped over him from the emerald. Shifter recognized it immediately as dark chaos energy, and he backed away.

_[Now Playing: __**"Alive" by: Korn**__]_

The energy seeped into his wounds and expunged the poison while healing him. After all the healing was done, his armor began to bubble before turning into armor that was made completely of the orange chaos energy. "I'm not dead yet, Metatron. I'm still alive!"

In an instant, Hunter had stood back up and backhanded Shifter, sending him flying across the field they were in. He couldn't believe the speed he'd attained; he was almost invisible. As he soared through the air, he heard the crack of the sound barrier breaking and Hunter was suddenly behind him, kicking him back down and creating a crater in the meanwhile.

Shifter stumbled to his feet and he held his hands out again, preparing to fire off his needles at the echidna. As he fired the poisoned rounds, he noticed that they only pinged off of their target and he widened his eyes. He couldn't believe that they weren't piercing the armor and he assumed that the chaos energy made it nearly impervious.

With insane speed, Hunter appeared before Shifter and whipped around a fierce kick that sent him reeling. As he rolled, the shape shifter rolled onto his feet and transformed again into his preferred Shadow Dragon form. He then held out his red Sol Emerald and it gave of a bright sheen before purple light chaos energy seeped from it and covered his body as if it were armor. "Let's do this Hunter," He then declared while flying back toward the echidna with his sword drawn.

As they clashed, shockwaves were thrown across the field from the sheer force of their blows. Each strike brought on a new wave of energy that could be felt from miles around. This continued until Hunter finally spotted an opening. The echidna waved a sword strike aside and planted a firm punch in his abdomen, causing Shifter to cough up small amounts of blood.

The shadow dragon quickly recovered, slashing violently at the echidna and making lacerations in his chaos armor. Hunter grunted from the pain as he felt every amplified slice in his armor. He finally stopped the combination with his gauntlet and pivoted for a fierce kick. Shifter felt the blow hit him, but he'd blocked it with his forearm and shunted it aside.

He then sheathed Xaquira and aimed his hands outward. "SOLUS SPEAR!" he cried, firing off multiple of the purple beams of light. Hunter barely reacted in time to let the spears sail by him while he flipped to the side. It became a battle between two superhuman beings, both of them firing off beams of light.

Explosions covered the fields as they intercepted each other's solus spears. The massive amount of energy was practically emanating from the field as craters and burnt grass were left in the aftermath of their volleying.

When they'd seen that the random firing was doing them no good, they switched back to old methods and charged each other at unbelievable speeds. Shifter reared back for a punch, but it did him no use as Hunter held his hand out and caught the punch. They stayed there for a few moments, just staring into the other's eyes.

"You can't beat me," Hunter claimed while curling his wrist and causing Shifter to bow down. "I've become too powerful, and anything you try now will be in vain."

"Is that so?" Shifter questioned while drawing on the emerald's power. When he was glowing with a red aura, Hunter took a few paces back, but was unprepared for this. "SOLUS BLAST!"

Instantly, an expansive explosion of red energy was caused, destroying everything in its path and blowing the echidna away. Hunter could feel the cracks in his chaos armor, and knew that his archenemy was using light chaos energy to counter his dark, canceling the two out. He was going to be ruined if this continued, and he was well aware of that.

He thusly stood up and focused on the shadow dragon that was panting from using all of that chaos energy. Hunter figured that he was tired, and held his hands back, preparing an attack. Shifter could see the orb of orange energy forming in the echidna's hands and he figured it would be bad if he was hit by it. Though seeing the danger, he only stood up and held his arms out behind him, with an orb of amaranthine energy.

The two prepared their attacks, merely staring at each other to see who was more confident. The orbs glowed brightly, lighting up their faces in the afternoon. Whence their attacks were finally prepared, they launched them simultaneously, screaming at the top of their lungs, **"SOLUS SUPERBLAST!"**

The superblast lasers they launched were of obscene size, covering the expanse of two large houses. Though flaring brightly, Shifter could feel his energy decreasing. He gritted his teeth, figuring that he was drawing on more energy from the Sol Emeralds he had. He could see the orange beam slowly conquering his purple beam, and he knew if he didn't pull in a last ditch effort, he would lose.

It was then that he remembered an old quote from the echidnae. They say that chaos is power enriched by the heart… perhaps there was hope after all.

Shifter drew on every last happy memory he could muster. He could see Auriel standing before him, on their wedding day. It was one of the happiest days of his life, and he was forever bonded to a beautiful women. He remembered seeing Auriel on the first day they met, back in that burning building.

Then, the newer memories came to him. He remembered meeting Disturbed again, and getting his former apprentice to finally forgive him. He thought of Seraph and Fiona, and how happy the four of them had all looked together. They were a team that was so closely knit; they were like family to him… It was in this that he finally realized what he wanted… a family.

He took all his memories and reopened his eyes, seeing the orange beam mere inches from his face. He drew on those experiences and he gave a loud war cry, forcing more energy and emotion into his beam. He screamed as he fought for the happiness of others, and his beam began to quickly repulse the entity of dark chaos.

"What? How is this possible?" Hunter shouted in surprise as the purple beam enveloped him, covering him in burns and scathes while completely evaporating all of his armor.

Shifter breathed heavily from having used all that energy. He needed to cool down, thus he transformed into his ice covered wolf form. He slowly strode toward Hunter's body, which was lying mere feet from the place where the explosion occurred. The echidna would've already been dead hadn't it been for both his metal armor and his chaos armor. Instead of seeing the metal shell, Shifter only saw the tattered body of a black echidna. "How does it feel to be degraded to only your fur, Thanatos?" the wolf asked, preparing to freeze Hunter in his place.

Hunter didn't speak for a while, only breathing heavily. It was then that he began to chuckle deeply, growing louder every second. "It's not over yet, Metatron!" he shouted while jumping up and running toward Shifter. The wolf was too surprised to react. How could he even be standing?

Now, out of his shock, Shifter lunged forward with an icy spear while Hunter lunged with his hands. A splatter of blood and a cry of pain; that was all that was heard.

Shifter felt a tugging pain in his stomach and he gagged on his own blood. Looking down, he could saw that Hunter was poised to strike him, and in the echidna's hand was Xaquira. Hunter extracted the black blade from Shifter's side, and he stumbled back from the injury. The ice wolf was on the ground in minutes from the blood loss, and he panted heavily while Hunter stood over head.

"Isn't it ironic, Metatron?" Hunter asked while twirling the blade around in his hands. "You've come down to this field, hoping to avenge your precious Auriel by killing me with her sword. Oh, what poetic justice it is that I'm killing you now with her sword."

"This isn't justice," Shifter muttered weakly. He put his hand on his side and tried putting pressure on the wound to keep more blood from flowing, and he winced in the pain. "All you want to do is watch the world burn before your eyes. You don't want justice; heck, you don't even want law! All you want is complete chaos and apocalyptic wastelands."

"Be that as it may, it's my own justice. Now, I finally have the last emerald!" Hunter exclaimed while holding up his prized red Sol Emerald in his free hand. He then reared back the sword, preparing to strike through his enemy's heart. "Now die, Metatron Arch!"

_[Stop Music]_

Hunter plunged the sword forward, but it never hit its target. Instead, a black hedgehog suddenly appeared and diverted the strike. Shifter looked up to see his savior, quickly recognizing him from the red streaks that ran down his spines. "Shadow, is that you?" he wearily asked while trying to stay awake. Shadow looked back only for a moment and gave a firm nod.

Hunter then took that time to look around and saw that he was surrounded. While Fiona, Sally, and Disturbed came to the aid of Shifter, Hunter was still surrounded by Sonic, Tails, and Shadow. "Sorry it took us so long to get here," Sonic apologized while keeping his eyes trained on Hunter. "You _did_ knock us off a cliff."

Shifter sighed with a smirk, having seen that remark coming from a mile away. "I'm sorry; I couldn't do much," he apologized instead while Disturbed carried him away to a safer place, followed by Fiona and Sally.

Hunter's eyes lit up with rage. His one chance at revenge had just been taken away, and he was none too pleased with it. In a fit of anger, he tried to bypass Shadow so he could rip Shifter to shreds, but the black hedgehog only threw a punch into his stomach. "Hey, idiot," Shadow muttered to get his attention "Do you really think I'm going to let you do that?"

Hunter simply stood back up, as if he hadn't felt the punch. "I wouldn't dream of it, Shadow." He remarked with his same dark voice. Even the loss of his armor couldn't take that away. The echidna then took out his seven Sol Emeralds, which began to float around him as he focused on their energies.

Shadow could tell what they were trying to do, and he waved to Sonic and Tails. "We have to get back! He's going to do a super transformation!" he shouted to them. The two nodded and jumped back just as an explosion occurred where Hunter stood. Now, a huge crater remained where he stood and the echidna was floating in the air.

Contrary to the black fur he used to have, his fur was now a deep, blood red and his spines were spiking upward. His violet irises had turned to an obsidian black, almost glassing over as he became a super natural being. With his transformation finished, he let out a loud war cry, marking the end of the super transformation.

_[Now Playing: __**"Open Your Heart" by: Crush 40**__]_

As the trio regrouped, they fully understood that they were facing a being that had just obtained near invincibility. It was against odds like this that the three thrived in. "Hey Shadow, do you still have your Chaos Emeralds?" Tails asked while retrieving his.

The hedgehog nodded and took the six he had from his spines. While the emeralds floated around the trio, they slowly started to float with them and the emeralds soon became a blurring line of light. Just before they absorbed the energy, Sonic managed to quip, "Let's do this!"

Immediately after that was said, the trio burst into beings of energy. While Sonic's fur had changed to a shining gold, Shadow's did the same, except for the red streaks on his spines that remained the same. Tails however, had changed dramatically. His fur was split between black and white, directly down his spine. Also, his eyes had changed according to the side of his body, with his right eye being black and the left being white.

"Everyone, let's go!" Tails shouted; an echo was present in his voice. With that, the trio charged at Hunter, who was well prepared for their advance.

The echidna extended his hands and shouted, "SOLUS FLUX!" launching thousands of orange light spears, all of them ready primed to explode in an instant. The three were reduced to dodging the solus spears so as not to be blown out of the air. Thousands of the spears flew through the air, lighting up the sky with orange while the three chaos empowered figures continued to dodge.

When finally the continuous fire died down, the three heroes noticed their foe recovering from the intense attack and they took it as their cue to rush in and attack him. The two hedgehogs appeared to be only blurs of gold while Tails stood back and fired black and white chaos spears at Hunter. During this berating, the echidna was slowly charging up his energy until his entire being glowed with a malevolent orange.

When his energy capacity was full, Tails took notice of the large aura and shouted to his comrades, "Wait, back off! He's going to try something!" The hedgehogs didn't even take notice of his voice and became victim to the attack.

As they charged once again, Hunter extended all his limbs and yelled, "SOLUS BLAST!" In that instant, a huge explosion occurred and blew the two hedgehogs back.

"Didn't I tell you to stay back?" Tails scolded them while looking over the injuries they had received. It wasn't much; just a few burns that wouldn't take too long to heal.

"Sorry little bro, I didn't hear you," Sonic meekly said while getting back into a fighting position.

Though Tails insisted on staying while he healed up their wounds with chaos regeneration, Sonic once again charged back. The two super powered beings threw punches and kicks at each other at high speeds. The blocks and punches executed were almost invisible to the human eye, but neither was hitting the other.

Finally, Sonic whipped around a kick that sent Hunter reeling for a distance. Then, with chaos control, the golden hedgehog teleported in front of the echidna's flight path and struck another fierce blow. This process of striking and teleporting continued, annoying the echidna to the point that he teleported just as Sonic was teleporting.

When the hedgehog appeared, without Hunter in front of him, he was confused and thusly swished his head around to look for him. It surprised him when the echidna struck the back of his neck with his elbow fiercely, sending him toward the ground.

Sonic crashed into the ground with a harsh landing, creating a small crater around him. He would've blacked out there if Hunter had continued the assault. It was only thanks to Shadow's sudden appearance that Sonic was saved from death.

The red-streaked golden hedgehog hand appeared in front of Hunter and glared him in the eye. For a moment, the echidna paused, wondering what Shadow was planning. It was when he saw him rub his fingers together that he realized how fast he'd have to fly for his life. "CHAOS MAGIC!" the super-powered hog declared while snapping his fingers.

The space near Hunter began to collapse and exploded violently as he flew away. He was then reduced to dodging these sudden explosions while trying to predict where the next one would appear. It was against his knowledge that Shadow was simply leading him into a trap that he and Tails had set.

Hunter was about to dodge to the side again when he realized that explosions had stopped occurring. He sighed in momentary relief, but was shocked when he noticed that Tails was only a short distance away, preparing for an attack. The black and white kit shot his hand forward and shouted, "CHAOS SUPERBLAST!"

The superblast laser that was shot from just a single hand was huge; more than twentyfold the size of an average house. It lit up the sky like a beacon as it neared the echidna at an ever quickening speed. He knew it would be impossible to dodge if it was that size and he was forced to try and redirect it.

He held out his hands, and while one was catching the energy and absorbing it into his body, the other hand was extended back toward the kit and emitting a beam of equal size. Tails simply held out his free hand and absorbed the energy, using it to power his own laser. With a confident smirk, Tails began to push back with energy from his absorbing hand, creating two lasers in his hands.

Hunter knew he had to break the energy transfer, and he saw a perfect opportunity in the two hedgehogs that were sitting idle. With his exporting hand, he redirected the energy from Tails' laser at Shadow and Sonic. The two couldn't react in time and the laser completely enveloped them.

Seeing this, Tails immediately cut the energy to his lasers, but the damage had been done. Once the dust and ash had cleared, it revealed the two hedgehogs in a crater, both of them covered in blood and burns; no longer able to hold their super form. The kit quivered as he saw his friends in the ash, and a single tear escaped his eye. However, with his enhanced vision, he could see the steady rise and fall of their chests. It was a good thing they were in their super form, or they may not have survived the blow.

He turned his gaze back to the echidna before him and gave a piercing glare. He would need to end this here and now, or Hunter would gain the advantage. Then, with a motive in his mind, he flew toward Hunter. In his hands, he gathered chaos energy and kept it charged.

Hunter was prepared for any kind of strike the kit could throw at him… but he wasn't prepared for this. When Tails came into strike, the echidna put up a block to guard him from the oncoming attack. However, the kitsune's attack struck through him, regardless of his guard. Though he received no injuries, he felt the light chaos energy pass right through him, as if it were taking something from him.

After gasping for a breath, he turned around and saw the kit floating there; the seven Sol Emeralds in his hands. "You… what have you done?" the echidna shouted, demanding an answer from Tails.

The kit only shook his head. "I've stripped you of your emeralds by negating your dark chaos energy," he explained while he absorbed the emeralds. "While you still contain chaos energy, it will soon dissipate once you use it all up."

Once Tails had absorbed the emeralds, he gave out a loud war cry from all of the pent up energy. Then, to Hunter's surprise, Tails split into two beings due to all of the energy. The fox on the left was black furred with white eyes, while the one on the left was white furred with black eyes.

"I am Seraph Faron," The black furred one introduced himself while nodding to his double.

"And, I am Miles 'Tails' Prower," the white furred one said.

Then, the two spoke in echoing unison, **"Together, we are the end of your line, Hunter!"**

The echidna growled in anger as he felt the chaos energy slowly drain from him. Though he was slightly afraid, his rage drove him on to attack. "SOLUS SUPERBLAST!" he shouted, while firing a huge, orange superblast laser. The beam was only amplified by the intense rage he contained as the beam neared the two kitsune.

Tails only floated forward and stuck out his hand, yelling, "CHAOS RAMPART!" As the phrase was said, a shield sprouted forth, made of white chaos energy. Though the powerful superblast laser came into contact with the shield, it did little more than dissipate before them. Hunter looked forth in disbelief, wondering why his attack did nothing. He had put almost everything he had into that attack, and it did little more than nothing.

In the echidna's reminiscing, Seraph floated forward and nodded to his double. Miles did the same and the duo teleported, reappearing on both sides of the echidna. Thy then began to float in opposite directions, preparing their ultimatum. Hunter however, felt like he was being suspended. He could do nothing but float, having used up all of his excess chaos energy.

The two kitsune suddenly reached their arms out to each other and shouted in unison, **"CHAOS SUPERNOVA!"**

In that instant a large black hole opened up in the space behind where Hunter was, and began to suck him in. Though the echidna tried to resist the pull of the wormhole, it was all useless as he fell into the gateway. "I swear to you; I'll be back!" Hunter declared as he was sucked away. "I will have my revenge!"

"Oh shut up," Tails muttered while he balled his hand into a fist. When Seraph had done the same, the entire warp zone collapsed, trapping Hunter inside whatever desolate universe he was in.

_[Stop Music]_

The two slowly floated down to the ground, their energy dissipating with the emeralds falling from their bodies. Seraph and Tails walked back to where Shifter was being healed, and they sighed with relief to see that he was still alive. Fiona stood up from the shape-shifter's side and asked the two, "Did you do it?"

With a silent nod from both of them Fiona enveloped them in a hug. When she broke the hug, she took time to notice that both Tails and Seraph were there. "What's going on?" she asked, curious to why there were two of them. "I thought Seraph was absorbed into your body, Tails."

"When we used both the Chaos and the Sol Emeralds, my body couldn't take all the energy strain," Tails explained. "The only outlet my body could have was if I shared the energy, so it was thusly dumped into the only other soul that was applicable: Seraph's. When this happened, he was forced to leave my body and have a body of his own, henceforth recreating him."

Though still confused, Fiona gave a nod and said, "Whatever the situation, I'll still love you both the same."

Off in the distance behind them, Fiona could see Sonic and Shadow crawling out of the crater. Somehow, they had survived by pulling on their chaos energy, and the stumbled over to the rest of the group.

Tails looked around at his group of friends. He had a girlfriend, several friends that he considered his 'best', a double to share the rest of his life with, and best of all; there was nothing to come between them all. The rest of his life would be wonderful…

He could feel it…


	20. Epilogue

_**Epilogue**_

_**There and Back Again**_

**/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/**

New Mobotropolis

July-24-4296

14:30 Mobius Time

In the early afternoon, a bustling city sat. Prosperous was this city, with many businesses thriving and people living their happy lives. To some, such a utopian empire seemed impossible. To those who ran it, a utopia was entirely within their capability to create. On any normal day, people bustled about. Some were traveling to their offices or workplaces to complete the daily duties before returning home. Others would be out for the commerce of the morn, to get the things they needed for their day.

Some didn't even leave their homes, preferring to stay in their own confines. While the mothers were forced to care for their children, the children in question were often out and about, playing with their local friends. It all appeared to be the perfect picture of peace.

However, today wasn't another normal day. It was a special time of year; a day when all businesses were closed for the time. It was a day when families and individuals of the city gathered up their picnic baskets and blankets and migrated to the Faron–Prower Memorial Park. Today was a day that was practically scheduled by nature to be clear and beautiful, letting the fields of the park unfurl their green grass. Today was a national holiday.

As Mobians from across the town gathered into the park, two Mobians were waiting amidst the center of the park, where all the festivities were being held. One was a blue hedgehog wearing a fine, golden crown and a black suit. He looked as if he didn't want to have it on, but it was in his personality that caused the dislike of it. To his left was his beloved, a chipmunk who was also wearing a crown, but also had on a fine gown on that was of purple color. An aura of leadership seemed to emanate from her as she stood proud and tall.

In the midst of the gather crowd, a mother plot hound and her pup were just setting down their tarp and picnic. The little boy looked toward the plaza and saw the fancily dressed hedgehog and chipmunk. He immediately wondered who they were. Though he was only nine years of age, the pup knew those people had some kind of importance about them. "Hey mom, who are those people?"

The mother hound looked in the direction that her son was pointing and saw the duo. She was shocked that they were so close to the royals and she practically squealed with joy. "They are Sonic the Hedgehog and Sally Acorn," she explained to him. "Those two are the King and Queen of New Mobotropolis."

"Oh, that's cool!" the pup exclaimed while staring at the two in awe. "What are they doing here on the holiday? Is it that important?"

"Hush Jason, they're about to give the opening speech," his mother ordered, not giving an answer to his question. However, his question would soon be answered, as the royals were about to give their speech.

Loud cheering was given as Sonic stepped up to the microphone and began his portion of the speech. "Welcome, people of New Mobotropolis!" he greeted them all happily, with a huge grin on his face. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the coming of our nation and the final extinguishing of evil in this world!"

Through more loud shouting, Jason still wondered, _Evil? What evil; what is he talking about?_

"It is ten years to the day when myself, Shadow the Hedgehog, Miles 'Tails' Prower, and Seraph Faron stamped out the biggest and last threat to our nation: an echidna by the name of Thanatos," Sonic explained as a holographic representation of the battle played out, with everyone in their super form. Everyone was awed at the impressive fight scene.

Sonic then backed away and allowed Sally to step forward and give the history of the events that had happened, which played out in the holographic presentation. "Back when we thought that Miles was once dead, we began to encounter a fox by the name of Seraph in Robotropolis during our missions. He bore a remarkable resemblance to Tails, and we were skeptical of him and his team at first. He was normally accompanied by his friends, Fiona Fox and Disturbed.

"After almost failing one of their missions and getting injured, we brought them back to Knothole and we became quick friends, though rivals at first. We soon took them on one of our missions to completely shut down Robotnik, but it ended in failure and we were forced to abandon them. Later though, it turns out that they were able to shut down all of Robotnik's systems and even gained a new ally: a shape-shifter by the name of Metatron Arch.

"When we discovered that Robotnik was dead by the hands of Shadow, the leader of Seraph's organization, everyone grew speculative of his real motive. We found out that Shadow wanted world domination, and we only barely managed to escape him. Later, Shadow would raze Knothole and kill Seraph, but only for a short time.

"In truth, Seraph's soul is one half of Miles' soul, and his soul was split to create a clone, which was Seraph. Shadow later revived Miles by replanting Seraph's half into Miles. After several mishaps, Shadow brought Miles to the future to explain why he wanted world domination. When they arrived, everything was ravaged, and it was completely different than what Shadow remembered.

"It was later learned that Thanatos was behind all of this, and they thusly traveled back to the present time to stop him, which they did successfully. Here we are today, ten years from when Thanatos was killed, and we are here to celebrate that day! Let the festivities begin!"

Once more, loud cheering was heard throughout, and everyone was giddy about the day's festivities. Jason thought about everything and he just felt the need to talk to the King and Queen. Thus, he disobeyed his mother's orders and ran off toward the duo. Though he was short, it was a curse of all Mobians, and the King and Queen were only about a foot taller than he. He tugged on Sally's clothing as he spoke up, "Excuse me, your highness?"

As Sally heard the young boy speak, she looked down at him and smiled. "That's not necessary child," she said. "Just call me Sally."

The boy was awed by the kindness of the Queen and he nodded thankfully. "Sally, I was wondering, what was this whole war?" he asked, somewhat confused. "I don't think I was born yet."

Sally grimaced at some of her memories of the war, but she still spoke to him. "Well, the war as between us and Robotnik, a dictator of sorts. Many things were taken from me during that war, but now, everything is back. We have our city, and we have our people, and that's all that matters to me."

The pup nodded and gave a quick thanks. He was about to turn around and go when Sonic put his hands on the child's shoulder and beckoned him back. The hedgehog knelt down and asked, "May I ask what your name is?"

"It's Jason."

Sonic sighed as he heard the name. "That's a nice name," he commented before getting to the point. "I also want to ask you; how old did you think Miles was at the time?"

The pup pondered this, never actually taking that to thought. "I'm not sure, Mister Sonic."

"My friend, Miles, was only eleven years old," he said, which surprised Jason.

"How could you save the world at such a young age?" Jason questioned.

"That's the reason I wanted to talk to you," Sonic explained. He closed his eyes and reminisced of his buddy. Tails didn't come around New Mobotropolis much, preferring to live with his double and Fiona in a cottage near the ocean. Shadow and Maria also had a house near there, also preferring to live outside of the noisy environments. "Miles accomplished many things in young age. He designed this city, and all of the technology that is used to run it."

"Really? That's so cool!" Jason awed at what he'd done for everyone. "He must be rich or something, right?"

"No; actually, Miles declined the money when we offered it to him," Sonic quipped, remembering all of the goodness he'd brought. "That's beside the point though. Just remember that no matter how tall you are, or how old you are; no matter if you're a boy, or how mature you are; you can accomplish anything that you put your mind to."

"Anything?"

"Anything," the King assured him. "Now go on; I can hear your mother shouting at you."

Sonic chuckled as he saw the child run back to his mom in fear. He was blest to have so many wonderful citizens in his city, such as that child. He looked to his side and enveloped Sally in a hug. Everything was going to be alright.

/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/

Palumpolum

July-24-4296

19:15 Mobius Time

Many miles from the city of New Mobotropolis was a small town called 'Palumpolum'. It was one of the few towns in all of Mobius that wasn't affected by Robotnik's dictatorship. It remained to be a small piece of the past; untouched by the malice of evil.

The town was fairly empty, with the inhabitants of which traveling to New Mobotropolis for the festivities of the national holiday. Only a sole person was left to travel the streets, in his somber reminiscence. He had more important things to do that couldn't be accomplished with all the citizens still around. It was silence that he needed.

As the wolf turned through the streets, spotting newspapers that flipped and tumbled in the wind, he gazed up at the sky and saw naught a cloud; only the sun beginning to set in the distance and lighting the world with its soft glow. He finally turned at one final corner and saw a small grassy area in the midst of all the streets.

He sighed as he strode toward it, resting his eyes on a single tree. It was a birch, with white bark and its leaves hanging off the branches. This was his favorite tree… it was _their _favorite tree. As he knelt before the tree, he gazed at a small headstone that was laid before the tree, bearing a simple inscription.

**Here lies Auriel Arch**

**Friend to us all and forever in our hearts**

**July, 24, 4245 – January, 15, 4285**

He set down a small bouquet of chrysanthemums near the stone… she always liked those flowers. He then knelt and felt on the stone, as if trying to feel her essence. "Hey Auriel, I'm back again," he muttered. "I brought your favorite flowers; I thought you might like them."

He breathed a sigh and tears began to form in his eyes, though he chose not to wipe them away. "It's that day again. Isn't it funny that the day we finally killed Thanatos is the on your birthday?" he mused halfheartedly. "Life's going good. I check in on Fiona, Seraph, and Tails to see if their alright. Surprisingly, their relationship is still holding strong, even with three people. I think it's because Tails and Seraph understand each other enough to know that they wouldn't steal her from one another. Maybe it's got something to do with the fact that they have the same soul, but that's just my speculation.

"I haven't seen Disturbed in a while. I think he joined the National Guard and is always off doing some kind of mission to maintain the peace. I think it's where he feels he belongs, because he's always had an odd thing with killing people, and there, he can put it to good use."

He stopped in his speaking when he felt a hand on his shoulder. When he turned around to see who it was, he saw the black reptile looking down on him. "Talking about me with Auriel? I'm touched Metatron, I really am."

Though it was spoken apathetically, Shifter still understood that he really meant it. Disturbed took a look at his somber expression and said, "I'm sorry, did you want some time alone?"

Shifter shook his head as he grabbed Disturbed's wrist and dragged him to the ground. "No, you can stay. How about you talk with me and Auriel?"

Though shocked to say the least, Disturbed gave a nod and the two carried on a conversation with the headstone, imagining that the real Auriel could hear them, somewhere up there. It was the first time that Shifter saw how much his reptilian friend really cared about him and her. With a smile he gazed up into the sky that was dabbled in oranges with the setting sun. He swore he could see her faint silhouette in the shading of the sky.

/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/

Seaside Cliff, Great Ocean

July-24-4296

20:10 Mobius Time

Away from any sort of civilization, a trio of foxes sat on the edge of a cliff. They were all breathless as they gazed out into the sunset, with the water below them glistening from the sun's rays, with some clouds above reflecting the light in purple and orange colors. "Isn't it beautiful?" the red vixen asked, mesmerized by the entire scene.

The orange fox to her right nodded. "It sure is, Fiona," He agreed with her. "What do you think, Seraph?

"Do you even need to ask, Tails?" he questioned the other fox. "We're almost exactly alike. I think if you like, I'm going to like it as well."

Tails chuckled as they all just let the wind wash over them. "Fine, be that way," he playfully murmured while relaxing in the peace. "It's nice to have one day of calm, huh? You know, what with all the mechanic work we have to do to make a living."

"Maybe you should've accepted the money that Sonic offered you," Fiona joked while nudging Tails with her shoulder. When the kit raised an eyebrow to her, she quickly added, "I'm kidding."

"Besides, the work we do for other people is changing the world, you know," Seraph reminded her. "We're inventing all sorts of technology that people use every day. For us, that's a major accomplishment."

"I understand what you mean."

The three swiftly turned to spot Shadow and Maria sitting on the Cliffside as well. Ever since the abolishing of the Freelancers, Maria had gone back to wearing her blue dress; the one that she wore on the ARK before it was attacked and she and Shadow barely managed to escape. "When I used to travel through time, one of my most major accomplishments was saving Maria from her untimely fate," Shadow explained.

"He reminds me of it all the time," Maria said as she enveloped the black hedgehog in a hug. The odd relationship between hedgehog and human had somehow evolved from friendship on the ARK to love over the years. The two were happily living with each other in a nearby house, having been married recently.

As for the fox trio, they couldn't lawfully get married, as they were a threesome. However, they all wore the same golden bands on their ring fingers, signifying that they were close enough to be considered married. Just because they couldn't lawfully get married didn't mean they couldn't unlawfully be married. It was a little joke of theirs that they shared about that.

As Tails reminisced about everything, he sighed in happiness. Everything was perfect, at least in the eyes of the beholder.

Whoever said perfection was unattainable?

/\/\/\/\|\/\/\/\/

XXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXX

Hunter held his head as he woke up in a black space. "Where am I?" he asked openly.

"You are in my domain," he heard a voice call out to him. He saw glowing red eyes enter the room and even he shuddered at the sight of them. "You have been defeated in battle, for I have seen it. You are in a completely different universe. Will you join me?"

"Join you in what?" Hunter asked speculatively, not trusting the figure.

"World conquest," he simply answered.

Hunter looked at the figure and reminisced about all that had happened. He'd lost everything; his pride; his emeralds. He didn't even have his armor anymore. This figure was the only one he could turn to, and he nodded.

"Good, let us go," the figure said while disappearing in the darkness. Reluctantly, the echidna followed him into whatever this new world may hold.

**End of Resurgence**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: With that, fellow viewers, I give you the end of Resurgence. You are all probably wondering why I ended it that way, and that will be explained in a later story that I plan to write.<strong>


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